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virtual world is becoming a uniquely comforting place for those who find reality challenging or hostile.

what people do in the virtual space is feeding back into, and improving, their real lives. Political and social activism is also taking root in the virtual world, sparking hopes that it could change things in the real world.

significant new modality of human interaction," claims the website of Tom Boellstorff, an anthropologist at the University of California, Davis, who has been studying the impact of virtual worlds on relationships since 2004, via his avatar Tom Bukowski. "You'll see all kinds of expansions of virtual worlds into domains of human life that we can't predict," he adds.

ability to choose your own body

has "all kinds of implications", says Boellstorff, particularly for disabled people, who in Second Life can do the same things with their bodies as everyone else.

Second Life's potential for people with disabilities. "For me, the 'Aha!' moment was when I stumbled upon a [virtual] quadriplegics' meeting," she says. She found people there who were severely disabled in real life but able to walk or even fly in Second Life.

Transgender Resource Center (TRC),

geographic and social barriers disappear

people from around the world meet to discuss challenges facing humanity

Second Life, together with Peggy Weil of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Their aim is to simulate what it is like to be detained without recourse to legal help. "You can bring home the idea of what it means to have your habeas corpus stripped," says de la Peña.

simulations are "more powerful" than a library or museum, because they exist 24 hours a day, and anyone from around the world can enter, keeping issues alive even when they fall out of the public eye.

What exactly is the relationship between someone's real image and their virtual one?

the choice between fantasy and reality may reveal something about one's personality. Research by Nick Yee of Stanford University in California suggests that extroverts tend to use avatars to try out new identities, whereas introverts tend to create avatars that are extensions of their real selves.

requirement for you to build and continuously manage your online identity.

five scenarios best describes your online profile-digitally disguised: there is absolutely nothing about you on the web; digitally dissed: there is little on the web about you; digitally disastrous: there is much information about you on the web, but it has little relevance to what you want to express about yourself; digitally dabbling: there is some on-brand information on the web about you, and what is there is relevant to your personal brand; or digitally distinct: there are lots of results about you and most, if not all, reinforce your unique promise of value.

build an online reputation

Invest in a solid understanding of your strengths, goals and compelling personal brand attributes.

cultivate a web presence

The effort to market yourself in an integrated, differentiating way demonstrates that you are a savvy marketer. By expanding your online presence, connecting it with your real-world visibility, you put yourself directly on the path to true career distinction.