Wow. I didn't see this one coming. Google has launched a distributed, widget powered virtual world called Lively. I'm still digesting this one, but it appears to be a fairly radical move - the decentralization of a service / environment that previously had primarily existed as a destination play. Off the top of my head, Google Lively reminds me of what Tangler is trying to do with forums - to allow interaction and community to exist over multiple domains. It appears as if the entire world and all the accessories for this world will be build by volunteers, but may be sold for real money. Here's a (minimalist) room that I set up for Sexy Widget:

