Benchmark Capital general partner Michael Eisenberg blogged today about a rumor he heard suggesting that Google Earth is going to be turned into a virtual world. Others have previously speculated about this possibility but I haven't before heard it pegged to any bit of reality as Eisenberg does, noting that he heard it through the "PhD grapevine."
Aside from Google, the beneficiaries of such a move would be, well, Benchmark Capital. As the main venture capital firm behind Linden Research, the operator of virtual world Second Life, Google's entry into the segment would further legitemize and popularize it. Once Google entered the segment, Linden Research would likely have to fend off many acquisition overtures from rival media companies.
That being said, I fail to see how a virtual world helps Google organize the world's information. Sure, it would fit nicely into its recent acquisition of game advertiser Adscape, but on the surface it seems to be outside of Google's mission. Unless, of course, the Internet giant includes in its mission statement; the world's "virtual information."
For more speculation about Google Earth as a virtual world, see:
Glyn Moody
Virtual to Reality
Tags: google, benchmark+partners, second+life, venture+capital
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Good article..I am always suprised somehow when google uses something that is so simple and can create an ecosystem from it.