Herman Miller Inc. has been facing a real problem in a virtual world. The Zeeland, Mich.-based company is known throughout the globe as a high-end maker of distinctively stylish and ergonomic furniture. For the past few years, however, unauthorized copies of its furniture began to appear–in Second Life.
Second Life is a 3-D virtual online world whose content is created by its users. Through their personalized avatars, more than 11 million members of Second Life interact with each other. They buy and sell items and build real-estate developments; they do just about everything that people do in real life–and more.
