This is good to hear. Teachers often get upheld to a standard of behavior/performance/etc. that sometimes seems in conflict with the notion of spending time in a “virtual game.” (Think about it: there are narrow-minded folks out there who would gasp in horror if they knew that their child’s teacher went dancing in Second Life, for example.) Watching places like SL become more mainstream day-by-day eases that pressure on educators and allows the more serious potential of virtual learning to get closer to classroom reality.

Educators can and should be a powerful force driving the integration of virtual environments into the analog classroom. They could be almost as influential as those artist folks (wink)…

That being said, a merged grid that lacks STRONG protections for teen users would throw the door wide open to potentially devastating emotional and legal consequences. I can see the attorneys queuing up the lawsuit now; after the parents of some naive 14 year old girl find her weeping in front of the computer, while her avatar is “controlled” by an adult who offered her a “pretty collar” as a gift.