A New York man is being sued by six Internet retailers for allegedly offering versions of their products up for sale in the online universe of Second Life.

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The New York Post said Sunday that while the alleged activity occurred in the online virtual community where users can fly or slay monsters, the lawsuit in a New York federal court is very real.

There are more than 10 million registered Second Life users, who are all able to spend actual money to purchase virtual goods in the online universe.

The lawsuit alleged that 36-year-old Thomas Simon copied the retailers' Second Life virtual goods and in doing so violated both copyright and trademark regulations.

The retailers' lawyer, Frank Tanney, said that while the suit may seem odd, Simon's alleged acts violated his clients' intellectual property rights.

"This is not a joke," Tanney said. "This is not a game. This hurts them."

Simon, on the other hand, is taking a different approach to the lawsuit.

"They can say whatever they want to say," he told the Post. "It's a video game."