It is an eye opener too see how many virtual worlds there are around. I am personally not a huge fan of SecondLife because I can barely manage to get everything done in my 'real life', let alone in a second life. I have seen some interesting applications e.g. a PhD student who posted his thesis displayed as an art exhibition. You could literally read from the walls and walk through rooms of information - fascinating.
As a parent I am frequently confronted with new virtual worlds such as Club Penguin and Rune Scape. Most of these do contain the social interaction component of IM (instant messaging) as well as the entertainment features of games, quests and creating personal spaces.
I discovered Whyville which is a virtual world for 10-16 year olds. What I find reassuring about this site is the parent information and the fact that users need to attain their Chat License before they interact freely with other users.
ExitReality is a fascinating concept but quite a logical development if you take into account the advances 3D technologies have made in the past decade. I must admit that I wasn't aware of the 3D sites being 'searchable' as such.
To summarise, the development of virtual worlds could have very interesting possibilities for visual learners. It is however always important that it's not about the technology, but about the learning outcomes for students.
