Just made a sale in Second Life.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: YOUR AVATAR - Marketing of virtual worlds by useing Avatars (Computer graphics

Welcome to the future.

Second Life is a platform in which users create avatars and places of all descriptions and interact with millions of other users around the world--all in cyberspace.

At any given time, nearly 40,000 people are logged on and guiding their avatar through this virtual world, a good many of them networking, marketing and meeting with clients. Second Life even has its own economy, complete with its own currency and plenty of people making a living selling real estate and assorted virtual goods and services.

Dave Elchoness, a Niwot-based employment attorney, is executive director of the Association of Virtual Worlds. "It's an organization designed to promote and advance the virtual worlds industry for both work and play," he says. Some 2,000 members joined in the organization since it was launched in the winter.

Through his business, VRWorkplace, Elchoness also consults with companies to help them utilize virtual worlds technology.

"I advise companies to use virtual worlds in the workplace to bridge employees working around the world. I also advise them on how to add virtual worlds technology to their product mix." The range of applications for virtual worlds is rather broad, he adds, "from marketing to teens to military simulations."

Elchoness says he's worked with call...