X-Box Live is allowing you to free your avatar in time for Valentines Day. The simple application lets you port your avatar off the X-Box platform and send photos of it to friends.

“The updated ‘Free Your Avatar’ tool will provide brand new backgrounds and props for every occasion including birthday backgrounds, party hats and balloons. Additionally, people will be able to upload their very own backgrounds: Place your avatar in front of famous landmarks you’ve always wanted to visit, or insert your avatars into your favorite movie scene. ”

I’ve often wondered why you can’t do the same in Second Life. The tools are there: OpenGL lets you take a ’snapshot’ of your avatar. The concept has been proven by Weblins (as reported, for example, by Grace McDunnough).

I’ve done 3D Print Screens using 3DVIA of builds, avatars and other objects. These screen captures can be embedded in a blog, rotated…truly 3D. With Papervision, the avatars could even be viewed in Flash - no plug-in required, other than what many users already have installed.

So would there be value in sharing our avatars in our Facebook profiles, say, or embedded as widgets on blogs? I see it as a viral kind of way to attract new users to SL - a small way, maybe, but still a way to extend the expression of ourselves through our avatars.

Only problem is, I’d really need to get new hair.