Reuters says Second Life residents will be able to access both real-life and Second Life news via a mobile device called The Reuters News Centre.

The virtual bureau will be staffed by Reuters media correspondent Adam Pasick, who will be known as a virtual reporter called Adam Reuters in Second Life and will cover events as they happen in the virtual world.

Says Pasick: "Reuters capability and experience in news and financial reporting will be valuable to the thousands of people who need to make decisions about how they run their businesses inside Second Life."

Residents will also be able to visit the Reuters Atrium - a town hall community centre - where they can meet to discuss events and see the latest images. A button on their Reuters News Centre will alert them to discussions and instantly teleport them to chat areas in the Reuters Atrium.

Commenting on the virtual bureau, Tom Glocer, chief executive officer, Reuters, says: "In Second Life, we're making Reuters part of a new generation. We're playing an active role in this community by bringing the outside world into Second Life and vice versa."

Second Life has a population of over 380,000. The currency in the online world, known as Linden dollars, can be swapped for real money and many regular players make a significant income from transactions.

However last month Linden Lab, the San Francisco company behind Second Life, asked all players to change their passwords after a hacker breached a database containing their real-world personal data - including names and addresses, passwords and payment data.