That's right, Big Blue, the 900lbs gorilla of the enterprise services and software world, is going to open up a business group in the Second Life virtual world.  According to IBM's Irving Wladawsky-Berger, virtual reality and "virtual interface work" are the next items IBM is aiming to tackle as it continues to expand the business in new and interesting ways.

Second Life is an online community that has sparked a very real service market, with users forming businesses in game to provide game objects and services, which other players pay for using game currency, which is purchased with real-world money.  This has caught the attention of tech entrepreneurs looking for something new in the aftermath of the dot-com bubble bursting several years ago.  This new market for in-game items and services seems to have a lot in common with the pie-in-the-sky dreams of the late 90s that drove Internet startups with nothing more than a dream.  IBM getting into the game lends the idea a lot of legitimacy.

Though IBM is stepping into Second Life as a new business venture, no one is exactly sure yet what that business will be.