Has anyone attended one of these new-fangled virtual events?

I ask because I'm yet to experience such a thing, and I'm interested to know what they're like. Events are on my mind because this very week I will be attending two separate conferences, and we're in the midst of a significant period in the world of shows - Ipex finished a fortnight ago, and in another two weeks' time it will be Fespa.

I'm sure the owners of both of these exhibitions will be studying moves in the virtual world with interest. A recent BBC article, for example, cited info from research firm Market Research Media that envisages the market for virtual conferences and events growing to $18.6bn over the next five years. The topic was also explored from a publisher's perspective during the PPA conference a couple of months back.

Out-of-the-box platforms such as InXpo allow anyone with an audience to build an online event with relative ease, and I noticed that once-giant computer show Comdex is being relaunched as a virtual event.

While not wishing to be flat earth about it, I can't for a minute imagine that virtual events could replace or recreate the many beneficial experiences of a major exhibition such as an Ipex, a Drupa, or a Fespa - not least the simple pleasures of a bit of random wandering about bumping into interesting people and spotting things that weren't on one's initial agenda. I'm wondering how the vibe of an event can be captured online, too.

But it is easy to see how the combination of the virtual with the real could have some major benefits, not least in giving an event legs far beyond the show dates. I see that the Ipex 2010 identity has become "Ipex World" on Twitter so it appears that IIR could well have plans to do just that.