Companies and Virtual 3D Worlds

The virtual 3D world of Second Life (SL) has become a mediafocal point. Despite the coverage, it is still unclear to mostexecutives, what this SL is, what implications it has on theirbusiness and what business models would be suitable to engage intoit. After embedding SL into the context of Internet, Web 2.0 andvirtual worlds for gaming, the author shows the businessopportunities a company has in and around SL. Companies can enterSL with creative, interconnecting or virtual business models.Creative business models need most resources and capabilities tobecome successful, whereas interconnecting business models arestill scarce. This means that an innovative company can stillbecome a first mover in the market. With virtual business modelscompanies face the biggest competition, since these models can beintegrated into an existing e-business strategy very easily and thecost for all virtual products are nearly the same. Weighting upthreats and opportunities the author concludes, that virtual 3Dworlds will become a major factor in the future of e-business withgreat technical and social implications, although it is not clear,if SL will be the place to be in the future.