Whether your plans are to dance the night away at a New Year’s Eve Party in Second Life, Watch the ball drop, or ooh and ahh at Fireworks in Second Life, now is the time to make your plans.

I have listed below some of the best 2009 Second Life New Year’s Eve Parties and Events.

Get Burningly Close to Fireworks

One of the great things about watching fireworks in Second Life is that your avatar can get as close as you want. Even burningly close standing inside the fireworks explosions themselves by flying directly into the exploding balls of fire. Now that is a way to celebrate the 2009 New Year!

New Year’s Eve Fireworks

Fireworks exploded in a kaleidoscopic shower of light over Sydney’s shimmering harbor Wednesday, as the world’s first major city to ring in 2009 celebrated the end of a decidedly rocky year with cheers, beers and a sense of relief.

Spectator Randolph King, 63, of York, England, whose retirement fund was gutted in the global financial crisis, summed up the feeling of many across the world as 2008 came to a close: “I’m looking forward to 2009,” he said. “Because it can’t get much worse.”

Facing the end of a year that saw global markets come crashing down — taking the world’s morale with them — partygoers everywhere struggled to forget their troubles on what is typically a joyous night.

In the Philippines, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo spoke of hope for better days to come, while in Hong Kong, some admitted they were too depressed over their monetary woes to join in the revelry. And in Malaysia, the government — mindful of the shaky economy — opted against sponsoring any celebration at all.

In Sydney, the midnight pyrotechnic extravaganza, which organizers hoped would give revelers a brief respite from the global gloom, drew a cheering crowd of more than a million people. Fireworks zigged and zagged against the backdrop of Sydney’s famed Harbor Bridge and simulated rain, thunder and lightning built toward a booming “creation storm,” in keeping with the evening’s theme of new beginnings.

“It is about reflecting and looking at what’s happened in the past and moving forward,” the celebration’s creative director, Rhoda Roberts, said of the night’s “creation” theme, chosen in part to reflect the struggles of 2008. “It’s a time for the community to gather, to reflect, and also to move on and to simply have a little bit of joy and celebration in their lives.”

But in Hong Kong, where thousands were expected at popular Victoria Harbor for a midnight fireworks display, those who had investments linked to collapsed U.S. bank Lehman Brothers said there was little joy to be found.

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