Folks have been saying for years that the “3D Internet” is going to be the next big thing, with everyone piloting avatars around in simulated 3D environments, chatting each other up, and (of course!) engaging in lots of lucrative e-commerce. And, certainly, tens of millions of people do something very much like that today, between smashing monsters in World of Warcraft to buying virtual fasions and bling-bling in Linden Lab’s Second Life. The problem, of course, is that you can’t take it with you: no matter what level you reach in WOW—or what a cool skin you’re wearing in SL—moving from one world to another means logging out and starting all over again.
