These virtual call centers are one company's answer to the offshoring question: How do you cut costs while keeping jobs at home?

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Virtual actors or game characters are another possibility - and then there is the prospect of virtual carers or call centre employees.

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Analysts call this a virtual database because it can query and analyze without moving any of the data out of position.

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On Saturday, McCain, meanwhile, took part in what his campaign calls a "virtual town hall" conference call, which is designed to reach out to Democrats, independents and female voters.

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When it comes to the very real battle between gaming giants Activision and Electronic Arts over the virtual war between Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, enticing gamers to buy one, if not both, of these key fall releases is crucial.

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Riggs said it would benefit from tighter integration with business collaboration tasks, such as the ability for conference call participants to share their desktops and brainstorm ideas on a virtual whiteboard.

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They usually get a call or e-mail from someone in the company wanting to know why their virtual desktop and other applications are taking forever to load.

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