In fact ABN has got the virtual bug, becoming the latest blue-chip organisation to see the marketing potential of the online role-playing game Second Life. In opening a virtual financial centre, ABN will initially offer financial advice to visitors, although a bank spokesman says that other banking services may be considered in the future.

Others that have set up shop, so to speak, include Toyota, IBM and Adidas; news service, Reuters, already has a dedicated Second Life correspondent.

Second Life, which has a virtual population of more than 380,000, operates its virtual economy using a currency called ‘Linden dollars’ which can be exchanged for real US dollars. There are already nightclubs, shopping centres, even ski resorts, so why not banks?

ABN AMRO, hopes its presence in the Internet society will serve as a competitive differentiator, providing a “personal and more direct” channel through which to communicate with its customers.

To date, citizens have proven to be a rebellious lot, forcing the community’s creators to abandon plans to tax possessions. Whether the Second Life citizens take to virtual banking remains to be seen.