The Diva is always searching for interesting uses for the services we offer. I have searched far and wide and I believe if I fainted at this moment and died, I have now officially seen it all.

My search for Avatars and Speaking Characters lead me to CNN. Here is what CNN had to say on the matter:

"For clients of an alcohol rehab center in Atlanta, one appears in the form of an after-care option: they can meet their therapist for follow-up sessions in Second Life, the popular virtual world.

The clients at Accelerated Recovery Centers, all addicted to alcohol, first complete an initial two to three weeks of intensive therapy at the center, undergoing training and meeting with psychologists, counselors, life coaches, medical professionals, nutritionists and personal trainers.

The furniture, walls, and layout of the virtual rehab center look the same as in Atlanta. The therapist's face is mimicked on the avatars. Audio is used rather than text chat, so the therapist's voice comes from the avatar during sessions.

There's also group therapy, with many avatars meeting at once.

But the rehab center is not about technology -- it's about helping clients overcome alcohol addiction. (The center was started about three years ago; the Second Life option came last year.)

But for many, the virtual world works. They have a sense of having "been somewhere," notes David E. Stone, a licensed psychologist at the center and its chief technology officer.

And they feel "more comfortable meeting in a replica of the therapy room that they used in real life." Many also tend to reveal more, or be more direct, in the virtual world -- a phenomenon called "online disinhibition." (You can see it in chat rooms too.)

And different aspects of identity tend to emerge with different mediums, whether text, voice, video or avatar (or in-person), just as a group setting reveals different things than one-on-one."

After all of the virtual therapy I think I would need a virtual bar! However if you find yourself in the unique position of being a trainer, personal coach, family counselor, or the like at least your client won't see you drawing or rolling your eyes!