Learn French: Le monde virtuel est aussi réaliste que la vie. - The virtual world is as realistic as life.

To compare two things that are equal, French uses aussi + adjective + que. In this sentence, aussi réaliste que translates directly to "as realistic as".

Why does the sentence use la vie when the English translation is just "life"?

In English, we usually drop the article when talking about broad, general concepts like life, love, or time. In French, you still must use a definite article (le, la, or les) for these concepts, so it becomes la vie.

Since monde is masculine, why does réaliste end in an -e?

Le monde is indeed masculine. However, the base dictionary form of réaliste already ends in an -e. When a French adjective naturally ends in an -e, it is used for both masculine and feminine nouns without changing.

Why is virtuel placed after monde instead of before it?

In French, most adjectives go after the noun they describe. Only a specific group of very common adjectives (often related to beauty, age, goodness, or size) go before the noun. virtuel simply follows the standard rule.