Been working with www.Code4Software.com V-Tracker while I was working at IBM and providing metrics and metrics strategy for IBM's Virtual Business Center.  I left IBM this month to work at Monster.com, but I haven't stopped working with Code4software.com since they're part of the Social Media Committee at the Web Analytics Association.

However, the real basis of V-Tracker, which is similar to Google Analytics for Virtual Worlds, at it's heart, was to power In World Advertising Metrics and Analytics - which it now does - and that network is called AdSoft.

I have the early results of a campaign run for the American Cancer Society Race for Life Campaign  Code4Software is running in Second Life, for the Red Cross, over the last few days has quickly surpassed all expectations and shown the very beginnings of what Advertising Metrics for Virtual Worlds can do:

AdSoft runs a few advertising networks on the Second Life mainland with several hundred terminals in a few sizes - using measurements provided via Code4Software.com's AdSoft network we're able to measure impressions (an avatar seeing an ad - usually for at least a minute), Clicks on the Ad and Actions associated with an Ad (including custom URL's with full control of tagging - for those of us into Web Analytics …. and a few of us are).

You can contact Jared Freedman at www.Code4software.com for more detailed results, but I want to show you the creative that went along with the American Cancer Society Race for Life Campaign (below):

While Relay Front Kiosk was running on Kiosk ads sized for that ad in Second Life

There's much much more to tell and show - and one blog post can't cover it all - but I can say the first chart shows the Large Format Relay for Life AD (first ad, above) got 12204 Avartar Impressions over a period of a few days - and the ad was clicked on 104 times, or 0.85% Click Through Rate.

All in all, there were 24 signups generated in the first few days, when only a couple were expected.   

Jared Freedman at Code4Software.com can give you a much more complete demo of AdSoft - I would like to see a YouTube video showing AdSoft in action to embed here, soon, but I think what I've shown is enough to re-ignite interest in Virtual Worlds as a viable platform for business.

What Large Corporations in Second Life and other Virtual Worlds lacked, was a real way to measure results - much of that I accomplished for IBM, while I was there - but often, the results weren't that good, honestly.  

In my opinion, the problem was first - what was being presented needed a bit more work to appeal to the audience that might come to the Business Center and there was an issue with traffic.

An advertising network like AdSoft - which only Code4Software has, along with the metrics, and a rate card, that will soon be available, is one of the keys that can/will transform Virtual Worlds to a large, viable commerce system - and this is the very  beginning of it.