Second Life gets its first virtual mobile phone network : Shiny Shiny

Is this really what we want? Our virtual lives branded with the same advertising we're bombarded with in the real world? Vodafone apparently thinks so. It's planning to launch itself as a mobile operator in the game Second Life. There's already a Vodafone Island, but now you'll be able to use branded handsets to call each other within the world, as well as send text messages. No news on how many Linden Dollars a phone will cost you, but since the company is hoping to gain useful customer feedback on products services, maybe the whole service will be virtually free.