Purpose: Applications of online Second Life (SL) prevail over the world. The purpose of this paper is to make a review and synthesis of recent research studies on SL. Design/methodology/approach: Documental analysis is employed. Totally, 135 research publications, published in 2006-2008, are reviewed and synthesized. Findings: Findings are as follows: the research studies on SL have been widened and deepened; SL has been widely applied in education and its research approach relies on descriptive methods; and SL has versatile charm for educators but pros and cons of SL in education simultaneously exist. Research limitations/implications: Some articles might not be reviewed; authors did their best to collect data from relevant electronic databases. Practical implications: This paper indicates the strengths and limitations of SL. Originality/value: This paper identifies trends of recent research studies of as well as issues in using SL. Users and researchers of SL may realize trends of and issues in SL. (Contains 2 tables.)