BusinessWeek's CEO Guide to Virtual Worlds

BusinessWeek has a special report this week for a "CEO Guide to Virtual Worlds." There's not much in the way of brand new information, but it's a generally very positive report that highlights the trend towards the increasing demand (and uptake) for enterprise applications in virtual worlds. Wagner James Au (usually of New World Notes) makes the argument that marketing is still strong in Second Life, but the bulk of the stories take the tack that marketing, at least in Second Life, has played out and made way for business use. A slideshow and podcast offer an overview of applications and current use cases. Two features offer more in-depth looks at the trends towards using virtual worlds to create "Virtual (Global) Offices" and "Virtual Conferences' Home Advantage." We've certainly been seeing substantial growth in enterprise activity, and BusinessWeek's cover story on Anshe Chung two years ago is often seen as a kickoff point for the ensuing wave of Second Life hype. Maybe virtual worlds for enterprise are about to get the same treatment.