Just remembered - if you wish to have a sample of the kind of content that gets created in Second Life, you're able to visit and browse the following third-party sites for an idea:

• http://www.slexchange.com
• http://www.slboutique.com
• http://www.secondserver.net

These are e-Commerce sites run by users that will allow you to search & browse for creative items, and will deliver you the items directly to Second Life. The first one even allows you to pay either with the in-world currency (Linden dollars) or US$ through PayPal - so you can have an idea of the "real value" that people give to their content. Be warned, though, that these sites are not so popular as they may seem; they have just a few thousand items available (compared to the 6 millions that are in-world). People prefer to do their shopping in virtual malls in-world, and not on web sites :) If the slang becomes a bit confusing on those sites, and if you'll excuse me for more self-advertising, you can get a guide with some notes on slang on my guide to Second Life (read the second chapter of that guide). This guide and dozens of others are online at the Second Life Wiki, but again, you need to create an account to be able to view that :-( There are still few external sites that offer information on people interested in knowing more about Second Life and who wish to read a bit before testing it - most of the dozens of blogs, websites and wikis are meant for the users who have already joined.

Also, some indicators on the virtual economy of Second Life which you may find interesting:

• The Gaming Open Market is a money exchange - people place orders for buying and selling Linden dollars here (yes, the value is slowly dropping - the discussion over why this is happening occupies a large part of the time of the in-world economists and opinion makers :) ).
• The MetaAdverse, an agency selling billboard space in-world (it's meant to advertise content and events, not "real world companies").
• Second Life Solutions, a stock exchange selling shares on a Second Life company. Their assets are virtual land - so, if the company goes broke, you'll get a piece of land - not all is lost (land can be resold)
• Statistics on Second Life, like how many people are really logging in every day, based on independent analysis. The good news is that the total number of users seem to be similar to what Linden Lab claims :-)
• Snapzilla. While the quality varies a lot, these are pictures being shared by users of Second Life. They can give you a rough idea on what people are doing or building in Second Life.