Second Life-inspired movie in the works

To show "detrimental effects of role-playing"

18 December 2008 17:22 GMT / By Verity Burns

Universal Studios and Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski are set to make a film about a man who loses his life due to an addiction to an online virtual world.

The idea for the film came from a Wall Street Journal article that the studio has now bought the rights for.

Called "Is This Man Cheating On His Wife?", the article detailed the Second Life addiction of Ric Hoogestraat, a middle-aged man who had been known to spend as long as 20 hours a day on the computer living his virtual life. In the game, he was a successful young business man, who had an in-game marriage to another player.

Reports doubt that Verbinski will follow the story exactly, but instead use it as a starting point for a story about the "detrimental effects of role-playing".

Writer of Eastern Promises and Dirty Pretty Things Steven Knight is in charge of the script, so it could prove promising.

As well as this, Verbinski has also been linked to the movie version of BioShock. We'll keep you updated.