How do I look in this?

One feature common to many Virtual Worlds is the ability to change your virtual self (your avatar's) appearance at will. But your options probably go further than that: you have the scope to change your face, shape, gender, even species, and to do so with relatively little fuss. I can't think of another environment where re-inveting yourself has quite such broad possibilities.

So, the questions that spring to my mind are: what's wrong with experimenting? what will everyone else think?

Firstly, there's nothing wrong with experimenting. Try everything out. It's an interesting experience.

More issues surround the second question, and the answers will differ depending on the environment and your relationship to the people with whom you are interacting.

I'm going to use Second Life as an example in this, but (to varying degrees) I have seen parallels in a number of online game environments.

One of the simplest ways that people will identify you as new to Second Life is your appearance. Looking like one of the default characters usually means that you simply haven't yet discovered the options to change your appearance or the ability to change your clothes. Looking new in SL seems to have a couple of effects - people (especially other new residents) will be more likely to talk to you, where as more established residents may be less likely to spontaneously engage you in conversation.

The converse, is also true. If you look like you are an experienced long-term resident, you will seem to be one of the elite to a newly registered user and they will be more likely to address a question to one of their peers. Ironically, appearing to be non-human (if your chosen appearance isn't scary and doesn't have negative associations) may actually make you seem more approachable. Wearing a cartoon chicken suit certainly stops anyone seeming threatening.

When choosing your appearance, whilst the freedom to express one's self is great, it is worth remembering that the medium is jut as important as the message ... and in this context - that of a dialogue taking place, your avatar IS the medium. Sounds like stating the obvious, but given the number of people I have recently seen pitching Second Life, in-world, to a group of very new users whilst dressed as something very obscure / disturbing / inappropriate I think it's well worth pointing out. And the best bit? This is Second Life. You can change your whole appearance as easily as you would change your clothes. Choose a suitable appearance for the people you need to address. You can always change back into the avatar of your choice as soon as the meeting is over.