Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Virtual Worlds have come into the cusp of internet innovations. They have created a home away from home for many that want to experience more then what is available to them in reality. Virtual worlds provide an escape to a land unknown and a land where that person can be unknown. Virtual worlds dont fall far from the gaming tree. It follows the same concept. You play as a character to experience an adventure you would never be able to in reality. Second Life gives people the chance to be in a second existence, where they can develop an avatar to either be completely identical to their present personality or create an extravagant fantasy representation of themselves. Anything seems to be possible when entering a dual existence. With the popularity of this virtual worlds companies have tryed to take advantage of this nifty tool. Many corporations attempted to expand their marketing approaches by going virtual and advertising in the virtual worlds. There were also attempts to build out businesses in the virtual worlds. In the case of Second Life there was a monetary system setup that expanded out into real accounts. Many tried to build assets and capital virtually. Some companies also used it as an equivalent to conference calls and meetings. With the capability to sit at their computers and meet in a common location. This is an interesting way to apply this technology and can be an fun tool within a casual environment but within a normal corporate atmosphere it needs to remain on the side of professionalism. Companies are already attempting to lower traveling and communication costs by pushing video conferencing and other web casting calls. There was a brief display, on an episode of the Science channels "Future of Communication", of technologies being developed to actually virtual a persons room to put them and their actual images in a virtual location.
Virtual worlds can be a positive experience and good getaway but for many it seems to be their only means of expression as they hide in virtuality since they can be fully functional in reality. Not a healthy past time if too much time is spent making believe to be someone else. This split personality works well for kids building their imagination skills but should not be the primary outlet for people trying to run away from their own being.
The virtual worlds within the gaming community such as World of Warcrafts and Halo where people come together for common entertainment is a good release and another good example of social networking where it didnt exist before. It brings strangers and different worlds apart.