As a (once upon a time) stereoscopic photographer and modeler, I take note of articles about 3D interfaces that are steroscopic and not just 3D mapped to a 2D display. The New York Times article "Why Hollywood is Getting Serious about 3-D" not only updates the state of art and commerce for stereoscopic cinema, but it also speculates on the convergence of cinema with virtual worlds:

If you believe the theory that TVs and computers will merge into one utility, 3-D offers intriguing interactive possibilities — especially the use of avatars in everything from PlayStations and Xboxes to virtual worlds for grown-ups like Second Life and virtual playgrounds for children like Club Penguin.

For the uninitiated, avatars are digital representations of yourself in video games or as alter egos in the online world. At first blush, they may seem like something for geeks and under-30s, but a lot of people are trying to figure out ways of bringing avatars into the mainstream — the idea being that a virtual world like Second Life is just a three-dimensional version of the Internet.

The interesting thing to me is the insertion the meme of Second Life as 3D internet into a conversation about the current and future direction of 3D entertainment.