I decided to open a supermarket!

Now before you shake your head wondering just why I would want to compete in this retail environment … let me tell you about "Phil's." Phil's Supermarket®, is the first virtual supermarket – and its cyber doors are now officially open. Located on Food Island, in the innovative 3-D virtual reality world of Second Life, Phil's kicks off the future of super-marketing simultaneously in the real and virtual worlds at the Food Marketing Institute show in Chicago at the Kraft booth, #1138.

My objective in creating Phil's is simple: to empower, educate and to celebrate food!

Phil's creates real world benefits through this unique new frontier of a virtual world experience. Shoppers can browse the store as they wish – or they can pre-shop for the real world. Consumers can personalize product lists, recipes, nutritional profiles and soon even be able to avoid specific ingredients or allergens. Although products are not actually for purchase with US Dollars, shoppers can participate in a variety of programs and frequent shopper incentives where they can obtain a combination of cyber and real life "stuff" such as product coupons, tote bags, t-shirts and more.

So log on and take a tour …

• Real world food products presented in 3-D, with access to product information, recipes, and coupons that can be instantly printed, stored or emailed
• State-of-the-art cooking studio with guest celebrity chefs and cooking demos
• In-store seminars which educate shoppers about nutrition, food safety and saving money
• Free Nibbles! – new product virtual sampling
• Expert advice from Sal the Butcher, Betty the Baker, and Fred the Fishmonger, or at Rick's Wine Cellar
• "Supermarket Guru Podcasts" in which Phil will take questions from the Second Life audience
• And lots more to come … remember we are just opening our doors so we are not fully stocked – we expect our shelves to be completely filled with over 100,000 products by the end of the summer

Here's the link to get you started CLICK HERE, all you have to do is sign up, download Second Life and create your "avatar" – there is no cost from Second Life or at Phil's. Enjoy the future of food shopping … and let me know any thoughts or ideas you have on how we can make Phil's even better!