Business Week  just did their third piece this month on Second Life www.secondlife.com. Got my attention. Second Life is a 3D online virtual world platform where real-world businesses can market digital versions of their goods and build brand recognition among the young and tech-savvy. 3D online personas or “avatars” are created as well as virtual offices, showrooms or shops. You can even buy land. “Pretty weird,” claimed my wife when I mentioned it to her. But some of the uses may not be quite so weird. Second Life and/or rivals could evolve into something like a 3D Web browser to check out locations, products or even create a virtual selling environment (it’s already starting). And, because it is so highly interactive, it could give a whole new meaning to “brand experience”. Yea, this is all pretty weird, but when I see the big boys like IBM making serious investment in a world of avatars and talking “v-business”, it does make me stop and ask, “Is this a next big thing for B-to-B marketers?