Heading to Second Life?

The Nintendo Wii's famed controller, the Wiimote, may have another use besides living room tennis-play or virtual cooking: it could be utilized as a job training simulator for tough tasks, like surgery and applying pesticides, in the virtual space.

According to Wired, MIT research fellow David E. Stone believes the motion-sensitive technology within the Wiimote is "one of the most significant technology breakthroughs in the history of computer science."

Stone runs a consultancy called WorldWired that works to bring realistic training simulators to virtual world Second Life. Already, WorldWired is working with pest-control firm Orkin, and he believes technology like the Wiimote is key to bringing virtual job training to life.

Stone's client list already includes a company interested in training workers for its power plants and a medical supply company.

Second Life is attracting companies seeking to cut costs on real-world job training, employee development and conferences. IBM recently created corporate guidelines for virtual denizens on its payroll.