Looking into their crystal ball, Gartner Group’s analysts foresee individuals in the developed world spending more and more time, up to 10 times longer per day communicating and interacting via a virtual world rather than face-to-face by 2010.

Facilitating this virtual connected lifestyle will be always-on/wearable appliances that enable either voice or text-based interactions such as e-mail and chat, analyst say.

"The visible history and context of the discussion that is achieved through text-based interactions, such as chat, will extend from the consumer into the mobile and enterprise environments, says Jackie Fenn of Gartner. "Maintaining context in this way will also enable users to switch rapidly between communities without missing out on critical information."

• By 2007, more than 60 percent of the U.S. population and the European Union aged 15 to 50 will carry or wear a wireless computing and communication device, and by 2010, more than 75 percent will do so
• On-line tracking, embedded sensors, and cameras will enable enterprises to collect massive volumes of data, which they can maintain and analyze. By 2005, enterprises will routinely capture 30 times more data about their customers than in 2000
• Privacy concerns will become a major issue among legislators and civil liberties groups for at least the next decade
• These emerging trends will offer the following benefits to the enterprise:

• Increase collaboration among co-workers facilitated through virtual communities
• Greater understanding of its customer base by way of consumer-oriented communities and profiling, which could lead to new, revenue-generating products and services
• Enhanced customer service through interface technologies that enable real-time interaction at the point of need

For more information: http://www.gartner.com