While the focus this week on virtual communities has been on Second Life, with news of developer Electric Sheep’s $7 million tie-up with CBS and others, here’s news of one organization’s plans for another virtual community.

Everyone’s aware of Google’s old “do no evil” motto, but not as many people know about the company’s good works. Some folks were very surprised by the extent of one recent charitable act: the Google Grants program essentially dumped $10,000 into a non-profit organization’s AdWords account.

Google has announced new merchants using Google Checkout – Toys “R” Us, Babies “R” Us, Golfsmith, Linens n Things among others – but more importantly, they’ve announced the addition of eight international charities.

Google Checkout has, as expected, instituted a few changes in response to the holiday shopping season. Look for a smattering of new merchants – including PETCO – and for the opportunity to save $10 (in more than one way).

Google.org has been getting a fair amount of attention lately. “The philanthropic arm of Google” was formed in late 2004, and, unlike most charitable ventures, is a for-profit entity. Although that sounds somewhat troubling, a recent interview with Dr. Brilliant, the Google Foundation’s executive director, should put any fears to rest.

Here’s a roundup of a few Windows Vista news items:

MSN is launching a karmic charity campaign called Under the Butterfly, a concept based on the famous Butterfly Effect that asserts small events impact larger ones. It’s “karmic” because participants in the event will have a choice: keep a prize or donate the cash equivalent.

The Well co-founder Larry Brilliant has accepted the position as the executive director of Google’s philanthropic endeavor, Google.org. Larry Brilliant brings a combination of medical background and technological savvy to his new job…

Even amid swelling controversy surrounding sexual predation on MySpace.com, Playboy Magazine is trolling the record-breaking website for models willing to pose nude for a special “Girls of MySpace” edition.

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has reached a settlement over a shareholder lawsuit that claims that he was involved with and profited from insider trading in 2001.

You’ve been itching to know what Tom Green has to say about health issues, haven’t you? Me neither, but Green is just one among several D-list celebrities who’ve been tapped to participate in Yahoo!’s latest health blog initiative.

eBay kicked off their spectacular holiday charity auction with a special Hummer H2 autographed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and personalized with the winning bidder’s name.

Most societies have a tradition of giving to the needy; We’re told to do so by our parents, teachers and clergy. It is the right thing to do — and it can also be a smart business strategy.