SAN FRANCISCO, June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Linden Lab®, creator of 3D virtual world Second Life®, announced today a strategic restructuring to increase focus on the company's consumer business including investments intended to enhance ease of use and participation in its virtual goods marketplace through browser-based and mobile applications.

As part of the restructuring, Linden Lab will also improve its geographic and cost efficiencies. The company's product and engineering divisions will be combined. The software development teams will be consolidated in North America and customer support will be reconfigured to provide more scalable services. As a result, Linden Lab anticipates staff reductions of approximately 30 percent.

"We've emerged from a two-year investment period during which, among other things, we've spent a considerable amount of time improving reliability and the overall user experience. Today's announcement about our reorganization will help us make Second Life® even simpler, more enjoyable, relevant and engaging for consumers starting with their first experience. It will also enable us to invest in bringing 3D to the web and will strengthen our profitability," said Mark Kingdon, chief executive officer of Linden Lab.

According to Kingdon, the restructuring also better aligns Linden Lab with its two longer-term goals. First, the company aims to create a browser-based virtual world experience, eliminating the need to download software. Secondly, Linden Lab will look to extend the Second Life experience into popular social networks. "Ultimately, we want to make Second Life more accessible and relevant to a wider population," he said.

About Second Life and Linden Lab

Developed and launched by Linden Lab in 2003, Second Life is the world's leading 3D virtual world environment. It enables its Residents to create content, interact with others, launch businesses, collaborate, educate, and more. Since its inception, Second Life Residents have logged more than one billion user hours and generated more than $1 billion in user-to-user transactions. With a broad user base that includes everyone from consumers and educators to medical researchers and large enterprises, Second Life has become one of the largest repositories of user-generated content and the largest user-generated virtual goods economy in the world.

Privately held Linden Lab, founded in 1999 by Chairman of the Board Philip Rosedale and headquartered in San Francisco, develops revolutionary technologies that change the way people communicate, interact, transact, learn and create. For more information, visit www.secondlife.com.

SOURCE Linden Lab