Here’s yet another interesting article (NY Times) on the “game” Second Life, this time about real money and brand promotion:
But now, the budding fake world is not only attracting a lot more people, it is taking on a real world twist: big business interests are intruding on digital utopia. The Second Life online service is fast becoming a three-dimensional test bed for corporate marketers, including Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Sun Microsystems, Nissan, Adidas/Reebok, Toyota and Starwood Hotels.
There’s much more coming along these lines . . .
Within Second Life I am “Greg Stringfellow.” Here are more Second Life-related posts.
Screenwerk 
October 24, 2006 at 7:01 am
[…] I came to hear about Second Life after reading about it in a blog by Greg Sterling, former editor and director of the Kelsey Group’s Interactive Local Media program. If you haven’t heard about it, read about it in this article. Second Life is basically a virtual reality (”VR”) platform (or, “world”, or “metaverse” if you will). People go in there, buy VR property or other objects, and interact with thousands of other participants. […]
October 25, 2006 at 1:54 pm
[…] iMedia points to an AdWeek piece by Brian Morrissey on GM setting up an island called Motorati Life. This is another example of a brand setting up a presence in the virtual world. […]
October 30, 2006 at 1:29 pm
[…] Hitwise’s LeeAnn Prescott posted about a spike in Second Life’s traffic and the changing (read: aging) demographics of site visitors. As brands and others seek to capitalize on the popularity of the virtual world, some denizens are upset. Several articles appeared to this effect. It will be interesting to see how Second Life’s founders balance the demands of marketers and the interests of “residents.” There’s clearly some tension there. […]