I have some beta keys to hand out for Metaplace if anyone's interested. And opposed to SL, this is completely free.
What nice about metaplace is that its browser run, no downloads, and you don't need a high end gaming computer. The tools are there for world building for any net user, not just scripters. Imagine being given a piece of land the size of Malas and being able to use the house customization tool on the whole thing. Thats how easy it can be.
And yes, its still in beta, but some of us have had NDA dropped. Check out my sites below.