But it won't be cheap. It might run anywhere from tens or hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, depending on how much IT stuff you've got, how many people it's for, and how much development and integration you need (and how many of these wheels haven't been implemented yet). And even then it may not have the features or provable reliability for mission-critical operations.

IBM's Global Technology Services IT Optimization Business Unit, for example, has a four-phase service offering to build a 3-D data center. Phase 1—requirements analysis and inventory assessment—and Phase 2—installing a 3-D environment with a rough mock-up of your center within your network—could run in the low five figures. Phases 3 and 4—deploying integration middleware and turning the mock center into a live environment—are likely to be low six-figure tasks. (IBM declined to give specific prices, and, of course, the exact price will depend on how much needs to be done.)

Fortunately, there's a lot you can do that's comparatively easy and affordable—some even free, other than your time and possibly a better graphics card or newer computer.

1. You can learn a lot by reading.
Linden Lab offers a lot of free information through its website, including:

• Success Stories on how organizations have used Second Life,
• links to external lists of companies using Second Life,
• How Organizations Use the [Second Life] Platform and
• How To Articles, Overviews and Tutorials.

2. Try it.

• Downloadthe free Second Life client (available for XP/Vista, MacOS, and Linux). You'll need an adequate computer), especially in terms of graphics capabilities.
• Get an account on Second Life. A basic account is free; accounts that let you buy land start at $9.95 per month. Use Second Life's tutorials to familiarize yourself with how things work, and then explore. "IBM has some nice public sandboxes, where people can build 3-D objects and apps for free," says Michael J. Osias, chief 3-D architect for the IBM IT Optimization Business Unit.

3. Deeper reading—buy (or borrow) some books on Second Life and other virtual-worlds environments, e.g.,

• "Second Life: the Official Guide (includes a CD with resources for users and developers),
• Second Life For Dummies, by Sarah Robbins and Mark Bell,
• The Entrepreneur's Guide to Second Life, by Daniel Terdiman,
• Introduction to Linden Scripting Language for Second Life,

4. Learn about programming for virtual worlds.
"Get the basics down of what it means to meet, build, and script in a virtual world," urges Clear Ink's Nelson. "'Script' means create objects that are 'scriptable' in an object oriented way to communicate with each other, and to the outside world." Also, Nelson advises, begin determining "what are the APIs to processes on the outside, e.g. so your data center can feed data to them, and actions on these objects can communicate out."