Exceedingly cool article in MIT's Technology Review about attempts to create common standards between massively multiplayer online 3D environments. In other words, being able to consistently render that nifty avatar you created in Second Life on another platform.

So what comes to my mind first? Of course I wondered what would happen if someone took a Second Life avatar and copied it exactly into another game. Copyright infringement?

How about taking that bitchin' sword you got in World of Warcraft and selling it within another game? Do they want that level of standardization? Huge commercial platforms could be possible, with the prospects of growing that virtual commerce to unprecedented levels. And, of course, theft of virtual assets, misuse, hijacking, and IP infringement will all eventually bubble up to the surface.

I really love this stuff. Unfortunately it may take 20 years for China's IP laws to catch up to these new developments, but I'm patient.