I've been looking into this whole "virtual worlds" thing which includes online places like Second Life and World of Warcraft. We are definitely building the real matrix. In trying to find out how many people are living in these online worlds, I came across the strangest thing I've ever read. There are some great points and predictions, a lot of silliness and a few hoaxes for good measure. What an interesting mind the creator must have who put this together.
Here are a few examples:
In the future, long after World of Warcraft has gone the way of ARPANET, everyone will have a virtual-world twin. An upgraded, digital representative of yourself which I'll henceforth refer to as Awesome You. And you'll see a time in your life when more people know Awesome You than know the real you.
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So when will we start to see laws prohibiting the theft and misuse of game-world objects? As soon as members of the gaming generation become lawmakers, that's when.
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And if you're chuckling and shaking your head at the glazed-eyed geeks who can't tell the difference between game money and real money, let me ask you something: when Square bought Enix for $727 million two years ago, do you think they they actually stacked crate after crate of cash on a flatbed truck and then drove the $727 million over to their offices?
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There will be a branch of government to rule the virtual world.