This article reports on the use of a virtual world (Second Life) in computing education, and identifies the precursors of current virtual world systems. The article reviews the potential for virtual worlds as tools in computing education. It describes two areas where Second Life has been used in computing education: as a development environment; as a collaboration tool and to provide a environment for simulation. The benefits of virtual worlds for computing education (with a particular emphasis on Second Life) are discussed. Qualitative feedback from students is reported which, although not definitive, illustrates many of the benefits and disadvantages of using virtual worlds in computing education.