Virtual worlds and reality are becoming closer and closer, so much so that Vodafone now offer the InsideOut service were you can make mobile calls between your Second Life character and people in the “real” world.
If you’re into Second Life, the service offered actually looks pretty cool, you’ll need to head over to Vodafone Island where you can pick up your free phone, you’ll now be able to message and call you’re online friends (even when they are offline) and when you’re back in the real world you’ll still be able to interact via your mobile with your virtual geeks friends. You do need to provide your real mobile phone number but this is kept private and the connection is made in the background.
Until the end of the month the service is free when calling from Second Life, after which you’ll be charged L$ when calling from the inside and you’re normal mobile rate when calling from the real world. I’m not sure if this has made the world a bigger or smaller place.
More info available at SecondLife.Vodafone.