Meta Linden today published the latest monthly metrics for the month of May, in a variety of formats. For anyone who isn't excited by pawing through the spreadsheet data, we've got the quick summary here for you, ready to skim through. (If you want April's summary, it is here)

If you're really, really impatient: Growth slowing, still growing, more and more boys, not getting much younger.

Premium account growth fell slightly to 8.1% down from 9.7% the previous month. That brings us to 89,845 premium accounts to the end of May. Total signups increased 15% through May, while unique users grew 15% to 4,370,810. Total user hours for May are up 14.51% compared to April's increase of 18.7%.

71.28% of Second Life users are 25 years and older, a slight fall from 73.22% in April.

Gender balance continues to shift with more and more males signing up for Second Life compared to fewer females. In May last year, female users slightly outnumbered the males, now males are almost two thirds of the second life population. Female users are spending significantly more time online than their male counterparts, however.

The United States of America remains the single most populous country represented in Second Life, with 25% of the active users residing there. German users make up a full 11%, in second place. Countries of the European Union make up approximately 44% of the active user-base.

Mainland (Linden owned estates) area increased by about 10% (comparable with last month, and slightly up), and private estates increased almost 13% (down from last month's 17%)

Second Life growth is still strong, but it is definitely showing signs of slowing.