RELAYFORLIFE -- The Third annual SL Relay For Life virtual walkathon begins today. For many this walk will consist of holding down an arrow key on the keyboard, but for one brave avatar, some real feet will be doing the walking. Moriash Moreau, aka Nathan Walton in real life, has rigged his computer to an old treadmill, allowing his avatar to follow his movements, including buttons for turns.

For Walton, this event is especially important because his mother has overcome three bouts of cancer in the last 22 years, and was diagnosed in the past few weeks with terminal endometrial cancer. “Cancer has, in some way, touched nearly everyone’s life. Be it a family member, friend, co-worker, or neighbor, someone you know has been or will be afflicted with this disease,” Walton says on his

Web site . “It is time for it to stop.”

Originally started in 2005, this virtual event has grown bigger and has collected more than L$27 million in donations this year. “This event took months to plan,” says RC Mars, Randal C. Moss in real life, a community representative for the American Cancer Society. Mars is a staff member for the American Cancer Society and has been involved in SL's Relay For Life for the last three years. Mars says that SL is a community environment and it is a natural extension for Relay For Life to move into SL as the ACS is a community-based organization. “The event gets larger every year and we continue to add features such as team tools, team fundraisers and other activism components."