Hi Paul
I sell my photos and digital art there, Second Life is good but watch out for the hype. They now have a turnover inlife of US$1 million per day, in May this year it was US$1.5 million per day. So rent on galleries etc has come down, and there is a growing crowd who use free memberships and then expect everything to be free when they log in. The most popular place is Welfare Island, which explains the mind set of some.
Having said that. I make a range of unique pottery and sell it, and am now working with exclusive boutiques to make items exclusively for them. I also sell my art & photos both real life and second life.
One of the tricks is to join the right groups and then get yourself, and your work, known.
But it is a friendly place for the most part, and I have more friends around the world now than I did before. There is crime there, but thankfully everybody polices sl to keep it down which gives you an idea of what most of them are like. I enjoy it.
I'd say give the free membership a go, and if you like it then change to the £5 a month premium membership and you can then rent or buy property etc.
Ken