Thanks to Dusan Writer for pointing out this bit of news from Venture Beat.

“Kingdon said Second Life residents will be able to receive real world calls in the virtual world in a service dubbed AvaLine. The company’s Dial an Avatar function assigns residents of Second Life a phone number that enables friends to call from a landline, cell phone, or VOIP application. The service is available as a beta test today and will launch formally by the end of the second quarter.”