Virtual worlds such as Second Life, have millions of users worldwide. Virtual world "residents" wield huge purchasing power, and use real money in the online economies. Companies as diverse as Adidas, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and MTV have plunged into these unchartered waters to give their brands a virtual presence, using varied strategies.

ALYCIA DE MESA is a brand consultant, author, writer and speaker. Her published works on branding news, trends, analysis and commentary have appeared around the world most notably for Brandchannel.com and Businessweek.com's Design and Innovation sections. Her book Before The Brand on the principles of brand identity was published by McGraw-Hill in 2002. De Mesa's client list includes companies across industries from Fortune 100 to start-ups, including Xerox, HP, McDonald's, and the Phoenix Coyotes NHL team. Over the last few years, she has been a key speaker at various conferences including Stanford University's Graduate School of Business Future of Entertainment conference and Paris-based Luxe's Luxury Branding on the Internet conference. More on de Mesa Brand Consulting can be found at http://www.demesabrands.com and Alycia de Mesa's blog at http://alyciademesa.blogspot.com Alycia de Mesa can also be contacted through relevant social media channels.