It's a good thing that There.com's software doesn't run under Linux, or I would probably get a lot less work done that I do. But as it is, I use Windows primarily for software review, which is why I booted into XP last week to return to an exotic venue. I soon found myself in a huge hot tub on a pavilion surrounded by a tropical jungle. It was part of the virtual world There.com has created, and I moved about in it as an avatar, an on-screen representation of myself.

What's engaging about this virtual world is that it's built without the gratuitous violence of so many gaming environments. The lush locales invoke a vacation atmosphere and encourage socializing, which you can do by walking (using the arrow keys) up to any other avatar and beginning to type. And as your typed words appear, you may also ponder tweaking your avatar's appearance, building yourself a house, racing a dune buggy or exploring the virtual world with a hovercraft.

The shared experience can be distinctly eerie. Move into a nightclub and you hear music pumped in by Net radio stations. Your avatar has a wide range of body language and gestures. You can enter into group discussions, attend parties, or use real-time voice messaging. The basic service is free, but a premium membership is needed to buy real estate, get a dog (Labradors and dachshunds are available) or seriously customize your appearance.

Explore this virtual world for a few minutes (my later visits stretched longer and longer), and you'll see why people are spending Therebucks, the local currency translated from your credit card, to create a second persona for themselves. Think of a giant, interactive cartoon with a plot line that changes every time you enter.

It's a cartoon with commercial aspects, too, for people create and sell their own products online; they even rent 'property.' Give it a look. The software is a huge download, but once installed it runs zippily enough as it interfaces with the Net. There.com has turned the social networking craze into a visual phenomenon, creating a surreal, absorbing place that may occupy you for longer than you intended.

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What do you do for an encore if you've developed the world's leading search engine?

Google's answer is aimed at the small business market, with the potential for moving up into larger corporate settings once a new model for business software sets in. The idea is to put a suite of tools onto the Internet, allowing companies to forego support tasks and leave the hosting to Google.

We're getting an early glimpse of these tools in the just-released Google Apps for Your Domain (www.google.com/a). It's a partial offering, one that makes no attempt to replicate a full-blown software suite such as Microsoft Office. The "apps" include the already excellent Gmail, an instant messaging client, Web telephone services, a page creator for Web design and a calendar that allows easy work group scheduling.

What is probably coming down the road is the addition of Google's existing online spreadsheet and its Writely word processor, integrating these into a true office suite. Working out the wrinkles in the new package through free "beta" accounts, Google will then deliver what it says will be a premium service, one without ads and targeted at larger companies who need solid administrative options.

What's now shaping up is a battle between two titans -- Google and Microsoft -- over this space. Microsoft intends to produce Web-based packages of its own under its "Live" initiative, which includes everything from e-mail and site-creation tools to customer and project management programs. Also on the way: a Live Drive service offering 2 GB of online storage.

The jockeying between these companies will be absorbing, but what's really interesting is what we'll learn about using the Internet for office work. It's hard to see online programs completely replacing desktop software, not given the sensitivity of key business data and resistance to storing the same in a potentially hackable environment.

But keep your eye on this trend. While the idea of an online office suite as such may fade, related work group applications should be popular. A combination of online and offline is emerging, one using readily accessible calendars, e-mail and project tools, available from any Net connection, and one that can be made to dovetail nicely with existing desktop software. The biggest beneficiaries are small operations looking to offload at least some of the software maintenance and cut costs.