Virtual communities, how far is too far?

Virtual Communities are online communities or gaherings where people from anywhere in the world can blog about, well anything! In my opinion i think that yes there is a market or a need

for virtual communities as they are good for businesses, but of corse there is always two sides to every story. On one hand, it is information for millions of people on products and bussinesss. People who are passionate about their hobbies usually visit these virtual communities to talk to other fanactics about their shared love of...

well anything reallly, Jeeps, motorcylces, books and shows.
(the list goes on!)

However I have come to realise that every coin has two sides and this is no execpption, many people do have a healthy attraction to these communities there is a minority or what seems to be a 'major'ority of people who have an unhealthy obsession with these communities. For example, one virtual community called secong life has become a virtual life fro many people. Businesses advertise in these site, real pubs, places and people are all capitivated by this magicial imaginary world.

How safe is this? If everybody is online living out their social lives in a virtual world, meeting virtual friends in virtual places, is this going totake over?

Is it too late to stop and say enough is enough, or has this already gone too far?

Has the world become so cold, so unsocialable that people turn to the internet fot social interaction? Is this what we have to look forward too?

I think we should stop now before it gets too out of control online socialising is at an all time high, have we become so lazy that we will not walk outside to visit a friend?