If one thing has become clear about the virtual world "Second Life" it's that it is providing lucrative business opportunities to a large, and growing, number of entrepreneurs. The fact that you can earn money is naturally claiming a lot of attention.
However for the moment that isn't the most interesting for business users; these new virtual worlds are great platforms for new contacts, applications in training, collaboration, prototyping, marketing, co-creation, technology development and as "third places" (gathering spaces away from home or work). It might be virtual, but it feels real; making people much more involved than for example telephone conferences. Second Life is ultimately a social networking tool that takes online interaction and collaboration to unprecedented levels, breaks down hierarchies, and eliminates geographic boundaries.

Some companies create a space in Second Life with no clear strategy on what to do with it, which usually backfires -- no one wants to go to a location that's just a big advertisement. Other companies try to avoid that mistake. Coca-Cola, for example, held a competition in which residents submitted designs for a virtual vending machine. The winner of the competition will star in a video about designing a Second Life object. By creating interactive content, Coke avoided the pitfall of jumping into Second Life without contributing to the world's content. Reebok let users design shoes for their avatars, then order a custom-made copy of the shoes for them selves to wear in real life.