Not long ago I read the book The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. It really got me thinking about the future of profound changes we are going to see in our lifetime through impending advances in nanotechnology.

The virtual world of Second Life is hugely popular with gamers. It would be interesting to create a virtual world where nanotechnology were already prevalent. So, if you hadn’t read The Diamond Age, you would still get a sense for what a different world we are going to live in in 20 years. It could get people thinking about the impact of nanotechnology, “grey goo” and ethical issues and regulatory issues and so forth, before the problems really rear their ugly heads. Most people aren’t aware of these issues. Maybe a Second Life virtual world where you are immersed in the nanotech world 20 years in the future could get people thinking about this?