Kevin Alderman calls himself an erotic Gepetto, a digital Hugh Hefner and "a perv, for a lack of a better term."

He's known as "Stroker Serpentine" in the online virtual world Second Life and has amassed an adult animation entertainment empire there. More than 7 million users "live" in a world where they can walk, fly and drive, attend events, go to bars, clubs, engage in sexual activities and buy and sell virtual products and fake lands. Second Life even has its own currency and an exchange rate called the Lindex.

Stroker Serpentine has amassed a following of users interested in exploring the sexual side of the virtual life. He is the entrepreneurial and creative mind behind SexGen, a virtual animation program that allows the avatars, or digital characters, of two users to simulate engaging in different sexual positions and using sex toys on each other. The product includes 100 different sex acts, facial expressions and sounds.

Many users have tried to emulate his product, he says, but when he told them it was copyrighted and asked them to stop, they usually did.

Except "Volkov Catteneo."

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Alderman claims that user, who registered with Second Life using the name Aaron Long, stole the code to SexGen, made minor cosmetic changes and began to sell it at a discount. Last Tuesday, Alderman and his company Eros LLC filed suit in U.S. District Court in Tampa against Long, or whoever is behind the Catteneo avatar.

During an interview that took place inside Second Life, Catteneo told a reporter for Reuters that he had sold about 50 of the SexGen beds, but he was not worried about a subpoena or being caught.

"I am not some kind of 'noob.' My name is not on file. I do not even have a permanent address either," he said, according to the Reuters article.

Kevin Alderman created SexGen, a sex simulation program.

Friday, a federal judge ruled that Alderman may subpoena Linden Lab, which owns Second Life, and PayPal, which processes the payments, to find out Catteneo's identity.

"We are going to show people that you can't hide behind an avatar and break the law," Alderman told CourtTVnews.com. Neither company returned calls for comment.

Alderman says he has sold between 1,000 and 2,000 SexGen Platinum Editions for $45 each. Catteneo is allegedly selling his altered copies for $15 each.

SexGen is only one of Alderman's myriad virtual sex products. Users can buy add-ons, including backdrops (such as picnics), chaises and slave poles to create different environments for virtual sex.

"There is something magical about that connection that you make, even though it's through a series of semiconductors and transistors," Alderman said. "You are just a compilation of pixels, and there's no need to impress someone. You don't have to worry about whether you are overweight or someone finds you attractive."

Alderman said he began creating his product line in Second Life after he had sold similar products through other 2D virtual platforms and online adult Web sites. He began by enhancing the avatars with genitalia. From there, he said, business began to explode. Users began to request add-ons, such as handcuffs, Kama Sutra positions and sexual fetish accessories.

"Because of the ability to connect with another human being through the Internet and knowing there is a live living breathing creature on the other end of that keyboard, we try and help create a sexual, sensual way to express ourselves," he said.

Alderman and his business attracted more attention when he recently sold an X-rated Amsterdam island he created in Second Life on eBay to a real-world Dutch media firm for $50,000.