The Merchant
Tim Allen, technology chief at Crompco, an underground-gas-tank testing firm in Philadelphia, and his wife Jennifer created Web shopping mall SLBoutique to sell clothing and other products for Second Life avatars. They've even started selling real-world products through the mall, accepting Second Life currency for payment. Recently they sold the business to Electric Sheep, another Second Life company. But Allen -- whose avatar is known as FlipperPA Peregrine -- plans to help Electric Sheep offer e-commerce services to companies that want to sell inside Second Life.