Virtual worlds as a research tool
Two recent papers in Science and Nature review the use of virtual worlds, such as Second Life and World of Warcraft, to carry out experiments; researchers are beginning to use virtual worlds to examine human behavior and test artificial intelligence since there is a large population of possible subjects and ways to create almost identical situations for experiments.
The New Scientist Techology blog gives a good summary of the papers.
In teaching, virtual worlds might be a compelling way to bring students into the research process in some subject areas.
