Mark Wallace's 3PointD.com has a post revealing that there's an official Second Life guidebook being released in hardcopy form this December.

The blog notes: Due out in mid-December, the Sybex-published volume “explores in detail every aspect of Second Life’s rich and multilayered virtual world, explains how it works, and offers a wealth of information and practical advice for all Second Life residents.” The book was written by Michael Rymaszewski, who in the past has penned official guides to such popular video games as Age of Empires III, Zoo Tycoon 2, Rise of Nations and others."

Further commentary: "On first blush it seems an odd choice, since game guides usually focus on getting from start to finish as easily as possible and uncovering hidden corners of the game in question. But Catherine Smith at Linden Lab tells me that it was the publisher who approached the company about doing an official guide. In addition, “LL has had lots of input into the content, the look and feel and the writing of the book,” she says." I'm presuming the adult areas will be studiously avoided, mind you.