The Virtual World of Corporate America

Second Life is virtual reality on the Internet, but some international corporations are going there to do real work. For getting middle managers together, it's a lot cheaper than plane tickets and hotel rooms. You don't even have to come as yourself. On a recent afternoon, 20 avatars appeared for a lecture on software development sponsored by Intel Corporation. Opening the event for the semiconductor giant was a half-man, half-lynx dressed in a tuxedo. That's according to a story in the Los Angeles Times by Alana Semuels.