According to my Digital Advertising manual I am rather behind and some computer generated, virtual communities have been around for longer than the internet; second life began in 2003.
The design of these virtual worlds vary with not all of them mirroring real life: some ignore all conventions of the real world and try to avoid depicting things like walls or doors, in contrast others intend to mimic the physical world in every detail, or bend the rules only slightly. Second Life, known as a Hybrid Space (Kallay and Marx) focuses on the latter by creating a mix of the real and ideal, familiar yet fantasy.
Common misconceptions are that it is a game, this is wrong, second life even has its own currency! This is known as the Linden Dollar and can be changed to and from real life currency. This is where Second Life becomes relevant within the world of digital media…
Where money exists, products do too; therefore there are marketing opportunities within Second Life. The virtual customers within second life are real people and so, in theory, should respond to similarly to advertisements and marketing ploys within second life as they do in day to day life .
Currently some companies do use second life, for obvious reasons: if they want people to see 3d versions of their products; virtual BMW cars are sold, however I think that second life has a different use for online media. I believe that it could be used as a simulation of real life. If a new product is about to be launched then it could be created and launched within second life or other virtual realities and then sales and its reception can be monitored. If the product works in second life, then it is likely that people will react similarly in reality. The same thing can be done for advertising campaigns, if advertisements work in virtual realities then one would assume they would work in real life.
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