1. Open the Edit menu and select Appearance....

You'll see a large dialog box and a close-up of your avatar's face.

Along the left side of the dialog are a number of tabs that divide up the job into various body parts or articles of clothing.

2. Click on the Shape tab on the left.

You're now ready to change your avatar's shape.

Within the Shape tab are a number of other choices: Face, Torso, Legs and Body. Plus, you can change your avatar's gender with a single click.

3. If your avatar is male, click on female. If it's female, click on male.

Your avatar will instantly change from one gender to another. The clothing will stay the same, but there will be a number of easy-to-notice changes. Go back and forth, then pick whichever one you want for now.

4. Click on the Face button.

Now it's time to play.

Take your time and go through all the face sliders. Don't be afraid to giggle; you can't hurt your avatar's feelings.

Use the left- and right-arrow keys to rotate your avatar and see it from all sides as you play.

When you've finished with the face:

5. Click on the Torso button, and play with the sliders.

6. Click on the Legs button, and play with the sliders.

7. Click on the Body button, and play with the sliders.

Once you've played with the adjustments for a while and want to keep what you've got:

8. Click on Save As....

A dialog box will open asking you to choose a name for your new shape. It will appear in your Clothing folder of your Inventory.

You can create as many shapes as you want, and instantly change between them just by double-clicking on their name in the Inventory box.

So far, you've only played with the Shape tab. There's a lot more you can do to your avatar on the Skin, Hair and Eyes Tabs -- and even more with the clothing tabs.

If you want, stay and play. Try the other tabs and see what you can come up with.

When you're ready to move on, click Next below.

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