Google’s version of Second LIfe, called Lively, is to be discontinued by year’s end.

Lively was launched in July without much promotion. In Lively, avatars are created and interact with each others. Users get to design and decorate their own room to show off to others, with up to 20 people occupying a room at a time.

The difference is that Second Life has continued to attract more people since it is also a marketplace. Users can create their own virtual shops and sell user-generated content and real goods.

Additionally, Lively users have reported problems with logging in  and other bugs.

No layoffs are expected from the cancellation of Lively since employees will be moved to other teams.