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Google Earth has become a very popular application among users wanting to explore various parts of the glob via satellite imagery. Rumors are now circulation that Google is looking to take its technology a step further and implement facets of Google Earth in a project aimed a creating a virtual environment, much like that of Second Life.

It's Friday, so that means it's time to report on the latest juicy rumor floating around the blogosphere.

This particular nugget of information revolves around the speculation that Google might be leaning toward launching its own virtual world. Michael Eisenberg first reported the news in his blog:

Heard an interesting rumor today from an academic who heard through the PhD grapevine...Google is working on turning Google Earth into a virtual world a la Second Life (full disclosure: Benchmark investment). That would be an interesting development both for Google. After hearing this, I was struck by the language on the Google Earth website: "One more step to creating a life-like 3-D model of the whole planet."

If Google is actually serious about creating a virtual online world, now would be the opportune time to come public with the announcement.

The buzz around Second Life is mostly negative as of late, so as it stands the bar is set pretty low when it comes to user expectations from 3D worlds designed to mimic everyday living.

Also, if Google has a plan to construct a virtual environment, it seems certain that the company also has a strategy to monetize the venture as well.

One of the biggest knocks against Second Life, however, is the restrictive nature of the in-world economy, especially the difficulty in trying to convert Linden dollars back into tangible cash. So if Google is planning on implementing any kind of commerce structure within the world, the company would be wise to learn from Linden Lab's mistakes.

Many writers (myself included) have jokingly prognosticated that Google may someday take over the world.

Perhaps the company just plans to create a Google controlled society from scratch, instead.

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Joe is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.