I have mentioned the Branson project A World of My Own before, but now reports are that it is ready for beta. For those that do not recall, this is essentially a digital distribution venture, but one that adds in sort of an achievement/social networking layer on top of it that is centered on a virtual world. So you  download games, and get stuff for your avatar, which is your overall identity within the system.

Really, despite the name, this is probably more a competitor to Steam, GameTap, or Trion than it is to the likes of Second Life. That said, this is a big area — a lot more well-heeled folks are likely to jump on the burgeoning AAA digital delivery bandwagon.