IBM's leap into virtuality

You know things are getting weird when IBM's CEO is spending a lot of quality time in virtual worlds, but here you go. Sam Palmisano boasts of having two Second Life avatars (button-down and casual). He's giving speeches not only in the real Forbidden City in Beijing, but in the fake Forbidden City IBM is building in SecLife.

So what is reality, boys and girls? You can go to Venice, or go to the fake Venice in Las Vegas, or go to the virtual Las Vegas in Second Life where you can find a virtual version of the real fake Venice in the real Las Vegas, or ... is this getting weird or what??

Meanwhile, IBM is investing time and money to hype a virtual world ... so they can sell more of the hardware, software and services that the creators of these worlds will need to keep up with the increased demand. Meanwhile, the virtual world becomes more and more like the real one (complete with corporate sponsors at every turn). I hate to come off as cranky, but if we're going to create whole new realities with no physical constraints, can't we be a little more, well, creative??