Over at Squidoo, the user-created directory for ideas and recommendations, we were pointed to a tip sheet for locksmiths interested in using virtual worlds.

The page is, essentially, an enticement into virtual worlds for any locksmith who has their doubts. The writer outlines how virtual worlds are not just good advertising spaces for the locksmith trade, but also a place to do pretty much anything associated with locks: researching laws, buying supplies, connecting with customers, learning the tricks of the trade (picking locks, we presume), and discovering trade advancements.

OK, so there are some dubious links over there, but this thing seems to be a serious summary. Little did I know that Second Life and virtual worlds had expanded beyond Princeton and the World Bank and is now on the radar of smaller yet important trades. Plumbers, sanitation workers, ticket collectors – all are likely to follow, locksmiths are really just the first of a “third wave” following the brands, the business collaborators….the frontier age is over, my friends.

Now, who’s going to break it to the locksmiths that locking your door in SL doesn’t actually WORK? With clever camera controls you can break in pretty much anywhere, although there’s plenty of room I suppose for security orb repair people.