Taxation & Estate Planning

The IRS' Virtual World

By Darrin Mish

No, I am not referring to the IRS website. This IRS virtual world is more elaborate and is set up for certain very specific purposes. It is a virtual presence set up by the IRS in 2006 inside Second Life, a 3D virtual world where users, called Residents, can connect with each other. This is an excellent environment to potentially get in touch with a vast range of people. The IRS uses its virtual presence in Second Life for the purposes of recruiting employees and training. By doing it this way, the IRS has actually saved millions of dollars in advertising, promotions and other real world costs. Pretty smart!

Each user or Resident in Second Life has the opportunity to design his own virtual world to make it look exactly like the way he desires. Just about anything that can be constructed in the real world can be developed in Second Life's virtual world. The IRS project team that developed its virtual presence in Second Life set up various facilities such as the IRS Careers Island, the IRS Careers Center and IRS Education Center among other interesting features. A number of educational and entertainment features were also built in order to attract visitors to this simulated (sim) world.

Just like in the real world, so it is in the virtual world of Second Life. Buildings have to be designed and constructed, products and services can be marketed and relationships are made. So the IRS have tested various building designs before setting them up. After all the construction was completed, the IRS sim was opened to the general populace in Second Life in February this year.

In terms of marketing in the virtual world, it is quite similar to what it is in the real world. To market your product or services, you would place your brand at places of high traffic. But unlike the real world, in Second Life, residents can build their own venue geared towards marketing their products or services. For instance, in the real world you would spend tens of thousands of dollars for the right to put your company's logo and wording on the side of a F1 race car. But in the virtual world, you can build the entire race venue that includes the race track and all the cars. Thus, when the IRS wants to recruit potential new employees, they brand themselves as a great career-providing employer in their virtual presence, complete with links to relevant websites.

With an entire virtual world of its own, the IRS has made the quantum leap into the cyber age.Darrin T. Mish is a veteran, nationally recognized tax attorney who has focused on providing IRS help to taxpayers for almost two decades. He regularly travels the country training other attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents on how to handle their toughest cases with the IRS. He is highly ranked among the top attorneys in the country, with an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a perfect 10 on Avvo.com. Martindale-Hubbell has also honored him with a listing in their Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. With clients on every continent but Antarctica, he has what it takes to solve your IRS problems no matter where you live in the world. If you would like more information about his practice and how he can help you, please call his office at (813) 229-7100 or toll free at 1-888-GET-MISH.

Full post as published by IRS Problem Solver Blog on September 06, 2009 (boomark / email).