The Chicago Tribune's got an article up about a company called Simuality; they help small businesses set up shop in Second Life and other virtual worlds. It seems to be a slightly different tack than the one taken by Metaversatility, who recently talked to us about the work they do building brand outposts for companies advertising in online worlds.

The Tribune piece tells the story of Simuality founder Anthony Van Zyl and how he helped Evanston attorney Omar Khuri build his immigration law business in Second Life, with the help of live support. From the article:

It takes more than a presence to make money on Second Life, van Zyl said. Too many companies have offices or storefronts on Second Life but don't staff them, he said. "When you walk into this virtual reality there should be a person who greets you and directs you where you need to go," he said. "It's absolutely vital that there is human interaction."

But van Zyl knows that having someone available 24 hours a day to greet residents on Second Life is a tall order for many small firms. That's why Simuality, together with a Netherlands company, provides trained avatar receptionists for clients. In the case of Khuri's law practice, van Zyl expects to provide an avatar who can answer questions about the type of legal work provided and understand the preliminary paperwork clients need to complete.

While it seems Simuality does build some facilities in the Second Life world -- their website indicates they offer some of the same services Metaversatility does -- it seems they focus equally, if not more, on consulting, training and user support, along with this mysterious Netherlands company who assists them, essentially creating employees for their users.

One interesting fact is that neither van Zyl nor his client, Mr. Khuri, use their real names in their virtual business work; van Zyl goes by "Hendry Goldkey" (avatar shown), and Khuri calls himself "Ettorney Stapleton." If the idea is to build a business presence that can translate to the real world, doesn't this seem a bit counter-productive?