Enter the 'Second Life' business plan contest, win an island

Second Life entrepreneurs: get your business plan engines started!

The Electric Sheep--the virtual world's largest third-party developer--and Edelman, the world's largest public relations firm, have announced a business plan competition, and someone is going to win some serious (virtual) money.

According to the guidelines, the two companies are searching for entrepreneurs with the most creative ideas for businesses to run in Second Life.

The entrant deemed to be the best will win exclusive, free access to a private Second Life island for six months, and 350,000 Linden dollars--about $1,291.51 at Monday's exchange rate of 271 Lindens (the Second Life currency) to the U.S. dollar--in seed money.

The winner will also get "strategic guidance" from The Electric Sheep and Edelman as they carry out their project.

The site says the project must be focused on Second Life but that it may come in any format, and there are few, if any, rules governing what kind of business can win.

Two runners-up will win 100,000 Lindens each.

Clearly, the judges are going to be looking for business plans with profit potential, as well as clarity of vision and a rock-solid understanding of a target market. But being that Second Life attracts all kinds, the winners could be just about anything from a sex emporium to a rocket ship rental business to a Lucy from Peanuts-style psychiatrist's office.

The only thing that seems certain is that the winners--who will be announced January 27, 2007--are likely to be very interesting projects. Entries must be received no later than December 20, 2006.