Second Life as a Real Life Engineering Tool

For those of us who can hardly build a box in world, it may amaze us that Second Life can be used as a real life engineering tool but Professor Matthew Traum of the University of North Texas says it's time that Second life be seen as just that. as a "a future tool for engineering design and testing." Professor Traum writes, in a blog for Design News, that he is using using SL in his Computer Aided Engineering class taught in the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering at UNT's College of Engineering.  The article sets out some other real life examples where Second Life has been used as a real life engineering tool.  It looks like despite some of SL's desertions and technical issues that there lies potential for the growth of the grid as a serious academic and industrial tool.