Once in a while, business smash successes come out of Second Life that reinvigorate the arguments those who support the Linden world levy against the critics. Metaversed has the interesting story of RDZ Animations, who's sold 2000 units of their product at $3000 Linden dollars* apiece.

What's interesting is what their product is -- when you realize it's a "couples animator" called Rendezvous. Since we are talking Second Life here, it should be clarified that Rendezvous is not a sexual animation tool -- it's simply an animation tool that allows couples spending time together to actually hold hands, stroll together, perform cuddly resting animations and things like that.

Companionship in virtual worlds is a thought-provoking idea. There's quite a great deal of talk lately about personalizing one's virtual life, and how online worlds enable people to project their interests and self-expression into an avatar. It only makes sense, then, that that would extend to the way avatars relate with one another. There are already some strides being made in this area -- what comes to mind is our experiences in VSide and Entropia Universe, both of which let you choose the way your character stands, thereby controlling the attitude you project. And while most online worlds and MMOs provide means to initiate physical gestures of various types back and forth, what Rendezvous focuses on is the behavior of spending time together.

Ever tried to follow or walk with another character in a virtual world? Just as Metaversed says, this can be a stilted, awkward experience, rife with stiff collisions, meandering paths and companions getting stuck behind. The fact that RDZ Animations is so successful with a product that attempts to make even mundane companionship in virtual worlds so lifelike shows how important that is to some people -- after all, aren't virtual worlds social experiences? And it's also a good story of how Second Life businesses can be successful by knowing their market.

[Via Metaversed]

[*CORRECTION: The original article stated the price of the technology at $3000 USD -- it's $3000 LINDEN dollars, or as one reader said, "about $10"! Which makes quite a bit of difference, but the interesting developments for social interactions in virtual worlds still stand!]