One of the best indications of the importance of virtual worlds in everyday life is their recent, albeit tentative, involvement in US politics. As part of a much broader online poll, Senator Hillary Clinton is asking participants about their gaming and virtual worlds habits. The campaign asks "which of the following have you visited or played online? Sim City, Second Life, Sims, None of the above, Other, Don't know."
It should be noted that while some other Democratic presidential candidates, like Kucinich, have made entrances into campaigning in Second Life, more frequently strategists seem to be recommending against that. Clinton's strategist didn't participate however so it may well be that she's also gearing up for a virtual campaign. Another possibility is that with virtual worlds taking on more of a role in government and government taking a role on in virtual worlds, that this could be associated more with questions about policy. Finally, it could simply be taste polling to determine what's hip nowadays with the Web kids.
In any case it is fascinating to see virtual landscapes taken so seriously these days as to actually be a part of the US election process, it certainly makes a huge difference from them being regarded as outlet for computer geeks, which was certainly the case a few years ago.
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