Instead, businesses will likely choose dedicated DSL lines for direct Internet access and to connect remote workers to corporate intranets by employing virtual private networking technology.

FORBES: Broadband market offers room for variety

Nortel claims its Shasta 5000 BSN for aggregated DSL or cable offers services such as network-based firewalls, virtual private networking, and traffic engineering for several thousand subscribers over a single chassis.

CNN: Nortel targets new market for broadband

With such capability you can move and reconfigure not just virtual machines but hardware and networking configurations.

FORBES: How CIOs and CTOs should Improve their Businesses with the Private Cloud

They may even realise that they no longer need to make cars at all, deciding to follow the example of Cisco Systems, a data-networking firm, by becoming virtual companies whose expertise lies in design and brand marketing.

ECONOMIST: Riding the storm | The

She was one of the vanguard of lawmakers to allow visitors to her congressional and campaign Web sites to connect with her, or "work as a virtual volunteer, " via a list that includes nearly five dozen social networking tools and multimedia Web sites including Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Digg.

CNN: Where is Michele Bachmann headed?

It is hard to see how social networking can be both a platform for me openly share stuff and my private virtual locker.

FORBES: Connect