Companies which do not embrace virtual worlds risk missing the next wave of the web's development, the consultancy said
Virtual worlds such as Second Life will become an indispensible business tool
and vital to the strategy of any company intent on reaching out to the
video-game generation, one of the world's leading consultancies has said.
McKinsey & Company, the management consulting firm whose observations about
corporate behaviour are closely watched, said that virtual worlds were on
the cusp of a major expansion - particularly as a way to reach younger
customers - and that companies were "ignoring them at their peril."
A senior consultant at the company, which generally shies away from making
public statements because its clients include major high street brands, said
that any consumer-facing business "absolutely" had to be "experimenting in
virtual worlds" if it wanted to get the attention of under 30s.
