Marketers Abandoning Second Life?

Vary writes: "The LA Times is running a story today saying that marketers are pulling out of Second Life, primarily because — surprise, surprise — the 'more than 8 million residents' figure on the game's web site is grossly inflated. Also, as it turns out, the virtual world's 40,000 or so regular visitors are not only disinterested in in-world marketing, but actively hostile to it, staging attacks on corporate presences such as the Reebok and American Apparel stores. The companies aren't giving up on virtual worlds altogether, though, but moving on to games like There, Gaia Online and Entropia Universe. The article also contains some commentary from a marketing executive who conducted an informal survey of the game. His most imporant discovery? "One of the most frequently purchased items in Second Life is genitalia." What company wouldn't want to be in on that action?"