Couple to divorce over 'Second Life' affair

A couple in Britain are to divorce after one of them had a virtual reality “affair”, it was reported today.

Amy Taylor said she had left husband David Pollard and filed for divorce citing “unreasonable behaviour” because she found his character in an internet game having an online affair.

Ms Taylor, who met her husband in an internet chatroom, said she found his character having sex with another in the game 'Second Life'.

'Second Life' involves players creating their own personal characters, called avatars, which can then explore a virtual world.

In the game the characters can meet and form relationships with other characters and Ms Taylor said they even had a virtual wedding as well as their real wedding in July 2005.

But then, she claimed, her husband’s character first had sex with a prostitute in the game before starting a relationship with a woman in America.

Ms Taylor, 28, from Newquay, Cornwall, said: “I looked at the computer screen and could see his character having sex with a female character.

“It is cheating as far as I am concerned.”

It is understood the couple have now separated and Ms Taylor has a new partner, whom she met on the internet game World of Warcraft.

Mr Pollard, 40, said he did not think he was doing anything wrong. He said: “I was having this online relationship with this girl in America.

“We weren’t having cyber sex or anything like that.

“It was nothing really major but then Amy found out and went mad.”