At the 2007 Virtual Worlds Forum Europe, Vodafone's David Erixon unveiled the company's new "Inside Out" technology, a utility that lets users call or text their Second Life friends' real-world mobile phones. Tech Digest says Ericsson's claiming 10,000 have signed on to the tech so far.

But Tech Digest raises another good point -- why would users use Second Life to make phone calls or send text messages when it would be simpler to do that from one's own phone? A commenter points out that the service will let users text Second Life friends without knowing their phone numbers, a way for Second Life friends to keep access to one another on the go while keeping actual phone numbers private -- a sort of "virtual phone number?"