Second Life, and Maybe a Third or Fourth

Kaneva builds on MySpace's profile-driven Web pages by enabling users to interact and chat through instant messaging.

While users establish a 3-D model (or avatar) of themselves in Kaneva, it's primarily the content that allows for self-expression in the virtual world. Users are given their own apartments, where uploaded videos can be streamed on to a 3-D television, and uploaded photos are displayed as posters on the walls.

Don Bain, vice president and general manager of the Solutions branch of the Electric Sheep Company, explains that this type of platform may find its own niche audience in a follow-the-leader way.

Electric Sheep is one of the premier companies that aids real-life businesses with the transition into the virtual world. Electric Sheep has created the virtual homesteads for Starwood Hotels (HOT Quote), Major League Baseball, Reuters (RTRSY Quote) and Time Warner's (TWX Quote) America Online.

"When we see artists come in to Second Life, they've made announcements first on MySpace pages," Bain explains. "If they had made an announcement they were going into another platform, then audiences would follow them there. The average new person isn't going to sit and choose what platform they're going to explore."

Gamers Go Home

Sony's PlayStation 3 will have a new menu feature added in September, titled Home. While Second Life is considered an experience as opposed to a game, Home is bringing customizable 3-D avatars to hardcore gamers.