Reality Enters Virtual World

Updated from 2:48 p.m. EST

A virtual-world rally against the Darfur conflict had to be rescheduled Friday as the impact of a life-threatening event in the real world was felt in Second Life.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Lichtenstein Creative Media, an independent media-production company that organized a Second Life exhibit titled, "Our Walls Bear Witness -- Darfur: Who Will Survive Today?" had to be evacuated following an electrical fire that left some of the building's workers trapped on a rooftop.

The Boston Globe was reporting that an NStar(NST Quote) employee was killed and close to 100 people were being treated for smoke inhalation. It was also reported that the MBTA's railway line between Park Street in Boston and Central Square in Cambridge was temporarily shut down. ...