How can four people from different parts of the world meet for a coffee?

What makes people from different background, religion,  social status and abilities connect to each other? How can 750 million disable people can potentially maintain active social life despite of their disabilities?

The answer is Virtual worlds, and in the IMTC 2025 case – Integration of a virtual world with video conferencing. Two of our panelists appeared with their avatar while the other two used video streams. The result – a mixed virtual and real life video-conference.

One of the most successful virtual worlds  is Second Life – some see it as a game – but it doesn’t contain any specific goals or traditional game-play mechanics.
For others  it is what it is – a Virtual world, full of residents, ideas, groups, societies and an economy.
SL contains over 18 million accounts and have it’s own currency, where in-game dollars can be converted to USD.
SL economy sheer size is huge – it’s estimated at 567 million USD – 25% of the whole virtual goods industry in the US.
“Virtual” life never seemed so real.

SL and other virtual communities attract businesses in the same way Social Networks attracted and still attracts businesses.
With new platforms there are new ways for businesses interact with their clients and there are new potential clients to interact with – What would be the role of virtual worlds in 2025?