I’m not a member of Second Life. I have enough problems dealing with the issues of first person life, never mind loading myself with the everyday concerns of an avatar.

But maybe the time has come to open up to the possibilities of the virtual world? After all, everyone else seems to be doing it.

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Wimbledon -­ the tennis tournament, rather than the place -­ to have a look at IBM’s technology set-up. It was interesting to see how the firm deals with information provision at a major sporting event.

Collaboration and interactivity were seen as key tenets of the provision, with fans able to use a range of social technology platforms to monitor tournament progress.

Far and away the most intriguing element was IBM’s use of Second Life. Ian Hughes, consulting IT specialist for emerging technology services at the firm, demonstrated how Second Life participants could use their avatar to look around an online representation of the Wimbledon technology set-up.

Hughes and some of his colleagues spend the whole working day online, chatting with fellow avatars. I thought such an approach was the exception, rather than the rule, but my naivety was exposed by Hughes, who explained that about 5,000 IBM employees work permanently in Second Life. And that figure doesn’t include workers who have set up avatars independently.

IBM is by no means alone. Recent moves in the virtual world have included telecoms specialist BT setting up a customer support centre, and guitar manufacturer Gibson launching an island for product demonstrations and live performances.

Never slow to miss an opportunity for expansion, search behemoth Google recently announced the availability of development project Lively ­- a virtual environment where users can build rooms and interact.

IT professionals should probably avoid looking for an end point to all this collaboration and development. Whereas setting up a presence in Second Life once seemed an opportunity for public relations, creating a virtual presence is now more of a business essential.

And non-believers, such as myself, should recognise that the pace of change is only likely to get quicker.

Further reading

• Second Life: Benefits for students and employers
• 'No Internet Day' vs 'No Google Day'
• Dane-Elec Zpen - better than over-hyped iPhone?
• Instant messaging is a slippery fish for some firms
• How can you make money from social networking?
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels