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The First Celebrity Of Second Life Says She Was Misquoted

Anshe Chung just e-mailed me to correct some statements in my earlier blog post. She says she never engaged in cybersex for Linden Dollars. She compares what she did to what a geisha does: "A geisha is not paid for sex, although an individual geisha may choose to pursue sexual relationships with men she meets through her work."

I'm thoroughly confused here. I'm trying to understand despite two different cultural barriers: One barrier is there because I don't understand Second Life that well, and I'm unfamiliar with the practices of that culture.

I also don't really understand the geisha tradition and the role of women in 21st century Asian society

Also, Anshe's English is not all that great. This isn't intended as disrespectful to Anshe -- after all, her English is a lot better than my Chinese, which is nonexistent.

I've invited Anshe to talk to me over the phone, using a translator, and we'll see if we can straighten this whole thing out.

She also takes issue with how I characterized the cybersex discussion. I wrote:

Anshe and I ended up discussing that a bit, when I would have much preferred to leave it alone. I didn't get into tech journalism to write about sex.

She says that's just plain wrong; I kept questioning her about it.

In fact, we're both right. I did pursue it but I was uncomfortable doing it. I did it because it's my job.

Another point she wanted to clarify: I wrote that I was unclear whether the "Anshe Chung" I was speaking with was the real-world woman named Ailin Graef, or one of the real-world employees of Anshe Chung Studios, or Ailin's husband, Guntam Graef.

She said in her e-mail that there are not multiple people behind her.

However, that still doesn't tell me who I was talking to -- or, for that matter, which person sent me the e-mail using the Anshe Chung account. I'm pretty sure it was Ailin Graef, but not any more certain about that than I was before.

Watch this space for more follow-up.

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