Google Earth + Second Life = Wet Dream?

We've been pretty excited about this for a while, but the post 'a Social Network for Google Earth?' on the Google Operating System blog really put some more meat on the bone

Basically the strong rumour is that Google is about to launch a Second Life-type metaverse or virtual world where users create their avatars and are then able to build, trade, engage in a virtual Google Earth.

As Anthony Mayfield hints at in his blog Open, this sounds to me like a brand manager's wet dream: the targeting ability of Google AdWords overlaid onto Second Life with the photo-realstic qualities of Google Earth.... So if someone pops into a virtual t-shirt store, you can target them ( in their language, in their time ) with a talking avatar for the same in the real world.

This is the Intro page shown to Arizona State Uni students who are apparently trailing this new world. All that remains now is for someone to launch the world's first virtual recruitment event ;-)

Comments

[Matt Burney]

O.K, O.K, I said that I didn't get second life yesterday. This does sound pretty cool though. The ability to link physical advertising with a virtual version does sound pretty cool, shops running an online store from a facsimile of their real store could be cool.. (running round a virtual new york picking up tshirts and shoes from stores without having to pay for a flight would be great).
As long as there are no people pretending to be robots, animals and pixies and pointless islands etc it will be fine, a mirror of the real world would be good and I'm sure would attract more people than the "gimmick" world of Second Life currently does.

[Matt Burney]

Sorry, just read that back.. overuse of the word "cool" (you'd almost think it was still 1986), it's been a long week already.....

[Paul Harrison, Carve Consulting]

I don't know Matt, I can just see you with a Minatour's head and a mermaid's tail, hawking Onrec outside Matt Alder's virtual unconference.. ;-)

[Matt Burney]

You know me so well Paul! LOL