Philip Rosedale is stepping down as CEO of Linden Lab, the parent company of Second Life, according to the Reuters news agency.

The news comes a scant three months after Cory Ondrejka, Linden Lab's CTO and an architect of the virtual world, stepped down after clashing with Rosedale.

Second Life has struggled to maintain its dominant position among social virtual worlds. The Reuters report notes that Second Life has experienced a slowdown in membership growth and peak concurrency. The media, which once fawned over the potential of Second Life, has since become far more cautious about activities in the virtual world. The Reuters report also quotes Linden Lab chairman and investor Mitch Kapor as saying an initial public offering is under consideration, although there is "no rush" to make an IPO.

Rosedale will remain as CEO until a replacement is found, and will continue working full time on Second Life development as a strategist and chairman of Linden Lab. Kapor will give up the chairmanship, but will remain a board member, according to Reuters.