Earlier in the year, Coldwell Banker (follow link below to story) decided to set up shop in the virtual land of  Second Life.  I thought that was pretty clever, going against the grain of the dinosauristic realistic "presence" of business as usual.  (EvenI joined Second Life for fun, I didn't get far.  I haven't even built my avatar.)   

But look what has followed:

Money Trouble in Second Life

Second Life's financial sector is being rocked by a series of upsets that could spell trouble for the virtual economy.

"...Second Life, which was created by Linden Labs of San Francisco, is an online world where players can buy and sell all kinds of goods and services. The game's economy is based on fictional currency, called Linden dollars. But those dollars do have real-world value: players can buy or sell Linden dollars at a rate of about L$270 to $1 on the Lindex market. Second Life's website even boasts that "thousands of residents are making part or all of their real life income from their Second Life businesses."

The article does not mention Coldwell Banker, I just put the two together since they are in the same make-believe virtual world. 

Here is a website link with the links to many companies participating in Second Life:  Click Here For List

I look forward to seeing how this story "plays" out.

Coldwell Banker's Second Life

Don't think the Second Life land rush is over. Now a huge real estate firm is entering the 3D virtual world, as the service's headlong growth continues, reports Fortune's David Kirkpatrick.

I do have to say the whole thing made me think:

• Will there now be "virtual foreclosures"? 
• Will I start to get emails from real estate spammers who want to coach me in "virtual short sales"?
• Is there a designation for virtual agent proficiency
• and can I get credits for continuing virtual education?