2007 was the year of the online identity — and politicians scrambled to keep up. Whether they recognized it or not, the internet was creeping into every aspect of American politics in some very strange ways. The game was changing, and sometimes even the faces of the players — both online and off.

Speculation is mounting that Google is planning to launch an online 3D virtual world later this year. 

Insiders believe that this online virtual world may be part of a program to develop a 3D social space set in a lifelike 3-D model of the planet Earth.