PALMISANO GETS A SECOND LIFE

摘要

IT'S NOT EVERY DAY THAT YOU hear the captain of a 90 billion dollars multinational gleefully bragging about his alter ego in the online world. But these days, so-called virtual worlds are all the rage, and IBM Chief Executive Samuel S. Palmisano is about to make his mark as the first big-league CEO to appear in a virtual-world setting. "I have my own avatar," boasts Palmisano. He likes the sound of that so much that he says it again: "I have my own avatar." Actually, Palmisano has two avatars-a casual Sam and a buttoned-down one-who exist in Second Life, the most popular of a handful of newfangled 3-D online virtual worlds. It's the square Sam, complete with Palmisano's signature eyeglasses and dark suit, who will be taking a virtual stage in a virtual version of China's Forbidden City on Nov. 14.