Is Microsoft headed toward a virtual world? (Microsoft's "Home"?)

Austin-American Stateman reports from the Silicon Valley (San Jose, California):

At the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo in the Silicon Valley, Daniel
"By next year, you'll probably know more about why I'm up here," Schiappa, general manager of strategy for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, hinted that Microsoft could launch its own entry into into the virtual realm of "Second Life" or "Ultima Online" in one year. Schiappa suggested that Microsoft's virtual world would likely involve its Virtual Earth 3D service (pictured) and span across its PC, Xbox and mobile platforms...
Schiappa told attendees at the conference. "If a year from now we don't have anything, then we probably won't have anything," he added.

[Notes: Austin360.com/Statesman is the online site for the Austin American-Statesman daily newspaper in Austin, Texas; the screenshots were taken from Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D.]