Yeah, yeah. Disney, like everyone else with IP, is looking at getting into MMOs. This would actually be a pretty boring article if it were not for this bit.

Thousands of people can play on the Web at once in massively multiplayer online games, or MMOs, which essentially never end. Popularized by games such as “Ultima Online”, many are based on medieval or science-fiction themes that attract male players.

But in recent years, virtual worlds such as Second Life, where big corporations including Dell Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. have built virtual businesses, have attracted a broader and older audience.

That’s right – Reuters is implying that Disney execs were unimpressed by ‘men in tights’ games like WoW, but took a tour of Second Life and said “CLEARLY, THIS IS THE GENRE FOR US!”  (Note: I am trying to imply that Reuters is idiots, not Disney)

Incidentally, googling for “Second Life Disney” happily pops up this helpful article from the Escapist.

If you think it’s funny when two men flirt, you should see it in Second Life. As a “massively multiplayer online game,” or “game-like massively multiperson happening” SL goes down as the greatest public freak fest on the Internet. Where else can you find a world of people that dress up like humanoid animals and then hook up? These people give the phrase, “humping like bunnies” a peculiar kind of literal currency.

I’m not trying to pick on people who don furry costumes and have animal sex, because in the right context, I’m sure that could be a lot fun. Really, I’m just picking one of the silly things that I’ve come across to stand in for all the massive weirdness that goes on in SL every moment of every day. It’s like describing Paris as the place with the Eiffel Tower. It’s true, but sort of leaves something out.

“CLEARLY, THE DISNEY BRAND NEEDS TO EXPLORE THIS EXCITING NEW SPACE!”