Woman divorces husband for having a 'virtual' affair

London: An Englishwoman is divorcing her husband after catching him having an affair with a virtual woman in an online game.

The internet game, Second Life, allows players to create characters and live in a virtual universe - having jobs, relationships and children.

But after Amy Pollard, 28, discovered her husband's character in the arms of another female player in the Second Life world she filed for divorce citing "unreasonable behaviour".

She claimed that David Pollard, 40, committed adultery with the computer-animated woman and said it was the second time she had caught his character cheating on her.

In February last year, she said he had sex with an online call girl character. She even hired a private detective in the game to investigate his adultery.

She has filed for divorce, which is due to be finalised next week. Amy said: "The solicitor wasn't at all surprised. She said it was her second divorce case involving Second Life that week."

More than 10 million people around the world are believed to be into the website game.

Companies have even created a virtual presence on the site. Reuters opened a bureau in Second Life to report on events in the virtual universe.

The couple, who have been married for three years, first met in the game where their alter egos were "Dave Barmy" and "Laura Skye".

They met in real life and moved into a house in Cornwall. They were married at St Austell register office in July 2005. They marked the occasion by holding a virtual wedding in Second Life, modelling it on the "fairytale" ceremony of David and Victoria Beckham.

But as with most characters on Second Life, the couple's alter egos do not resemble their real-life appearances. David, a large, balding man, is represented by a tall black man with long hair and a sharp grey suit. Amy, who has red hair, appears as a pretty Hispanic woman with long black hair.

She said she discovered her husband's most recent online infidelity in April after she had awoken from an afternoon nap and caught him in a compromising position on the screen. She said: "I caught him cuddling a woman on a sofa in the game. I went mad - I was so hurt. I just couldn't believe what he'd done.

Final straw

"I looked at the computer screen and could see his character having sex with a female character. It's cheating as far as I'm concerned.

"But he didn't see it as a problem, and couldn't see why I was so upset. He tried to make out it was my fault for not giving him enough attention. Then later he confessed he'd been talking to this woman player in America for one or two weeks, and said our marriage was over."

Amy said her estranged husband was now engaged to the woman he had an "affair" with on Second Life, though they had never met in real life. She said she had also found a new man, whom she met online while playing World of Warcraft.