Virtual worlds? Get a life, say silicon.com readers

You may be able to fly around chatting to giant rabbits or battling trolls but the lure of virtual worlds such as Second Life is not as strong - for silicon.com readers at least - as you might think.

Asked whether they'd ever visited a virtual world, more than half (58 per cent) of respondents to a silicon.com reader poll said they had never been tempted to find out what life as an orc is like. And although one-fifth (20 per cent) had decided to take the plunge once to see what all the fuss is about, they said they got bored and didn't go back for more.

Second Life - the business evolution

Click on the links below to see pictures of some of the many real-world businesses that have set up outposts in Second Life.

Toyota
Nissan
Intel
Dell
Cisco
IBM
Circuit City
Sears
Wired
ABN Amro
Samsung
Field Fisher Waterhouse
AOL
Adidas
Nissan
Sun Microsystems
Reebok
Penguin
American Apparel
Reuters
CNET Networks
PA Consulting
Yankee Stadium

However, a sizeable minority of silicon.com readers do frequent virtual worlds, according to the poll.

Thirteen per cent of respondents admitted to being "occasional users" of the likes of Entropia Universe and EVE-Online, while nine per cent said they make regular pilgrimages to virtual lands.

And this figure is only likely to grow as younger generations - otherwise known as digital natives - who have grown up with the notion of socialising online, bring their penchant for living a second life to the workplace.

Earlier this month, a Chinese entertainment company announced plans to build a cash-based virtual economy with Entropia's owner, Mindark, which it is hoped will create up to 10,000 jobs.

For more on virtual worlds - including photo stories and analysis of what businesses are up to - have a look at our special report.