A few months back my colleague Derek blogged about the potential applications of the Wii, Second Life and other gaming technologies in replacing/supplementing physical activity. And while I agree with him that virtual exercise will never replace the real thing, there’s an increasing trend towards using gaming technologies in healthcare environments, in particular in physiotherapy and rehabilitation treatment. See here, here and here.

The potential of such applications seems limitless and it should be no time at all before we see such technologies applied in training techniques in industries as diverse as healthcare, policing or the service industry. Or for the sake of pie-in-the sky thinking, could you combine open-source education models with gaming technologies to create new virtual classrooms?

In the mean time I’m gearing up to challenge my dad to a game of bowling…