"AUGMENTED" SOCIAL SPACE: NETS AND STRUCTURES OF "SECOND LIFE"
The authors analyze the problem of social space, uses the categories of "social aсtuality” and "social reality", analyzes the nature and mechanism of the specific social space in the Internet environment based on users' interaction mediated by the various services: social networking multiplayers' online games, "online worlds", explores constructivist and communicative aspects of social practices formation. The author uses the example of a «Second Life» project of Linden Lab company, describes the most important characteristics of the so-called "online worlds" - a special kind of social networks which have been widely used in the beginning of XXI century. A detailed analysis of the conceptual foundations of «Second Life» and the history of the project is carried out. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that the world online space is an "augmented" copy of real social relationships. It is the exact likeness of the typical practices of social reality, embodied in the form of three-dimensional environment, which has its own special "physical" laws and is exposed to change by the users. Users of this online world simultaneously act as a subject and an object of “augmented” social space modeling.