Second Life...Creepy Life?

At precisely 8:05:45 AM PDT on October 18, 2006, 1 million virtual citizens inhabit this online world called Second Life. It's essentially a virtual world where you can live your virtual life exactly as you script it: you can buy real estate, run a business, even go to a music concert by a real-world band (Duran Duran!). There's even a Wikipedia entry about it.

About 5% of of land owners in SL are corporations, and GM's Pontiac brand recently acquired an island, naming it MotoratiLife. Leo Burnett is the first ad agency to hang its shingles in the virtual world.

On the one hand, I find this fascinating. It's like Star Trek but better! And man, here's my big chance to look this good!

On the other hand, there's something creepy about this whole alt-world and virtual-reality reality that makes my skin crawl in ways that I can't yet articulate. It'll come to me.