News.com reports that Linden Lab has decided to sell real names for use in Second Life.
To date, Linden Lab has doled these real names out on a very selective basis. Many "Second Life" residents have been asking about the company's policy, but to date it has been mum, largely because it didn't seem to know what it planned to do.
Now, according to an internal source, Linden Lab has finally settled on its plan for real names. And if you're a single mother on a budget, you probably won't be benefiting.
That's because the company has decided, CNET News.com has learned, to charge individuals who want a real last name a $100 setup fee and a $50-a-year maintenance fee. Companies that want their corporate name can have unlimited accounts for a $1,000 setup fee and $500 a year.
That means that we'll be seeing more instances of companies like Sun populating the world with last names like "SunMicrosystems."
It will be interesting to see if this becomes as big of a deal as the domain name craze has become. There will certainly be a big interest in acquiring Second Life names but those prices are likely too step for domain name grabbers.
News.com 
