Virtual Business Meetings

Tough times in the business world may be a boon for the virtual world. Why deploy a team of employees to Las Vegas for a week, when you can send three-dimensional avatars to a conference in Second Life or any other virtual world? As The Boston Globe suggests, you can make your own buildings or rent space in the local currency, for a fraction of the cost of the real thing.

Business travel makes up 18 percent of domestic flights, and one in five of those trips are for attending a convention, conference or seminar. But with companies looking to scale back, the travel industry is projecting a 3.7 percent decline in business travel volume this year, and another 2.7 percent decline forecasted for 2009.

That's why virtual-worlds advocates like Erica Driver, cofounder of ThinkBalm, are urging recession-rattled business leaders to consider the "Immersive Internet." Besides virtual worlds, that includes 3D simulators and games designed to promote brands, recruit and train employees, and create product concepts.

But while academics are embracing virtual worlds, business executives and IT department heads may be reluctant to take a risk on unreliable emerging technologies. Neverthless, a recession on the horizon may force business leaders to more closely consider the metaverse.

(Photo by Daneel Ariantho)