Sometimes stating the obvious is not such a bad thing. Despite the bursting of the dot.com bubble about a decade ago, the virtual world has become an increasingly important part of the real economy. This is especially true in the affluent countries, some of which have little traditional manufacturing left. The virtual world can be depicted as an exciting capitalist frontier, a bit like the American West was in the nineteenth century.

Globalisation in the nineteenth century was a process which occurred under the partial control of the British Empire. It involved a speeding up of communication and an expansion of capitalist development. Since the 1970s, a new phase of globalisation has proceeded swiftly under the protection of the United States. While a multi-polar international economy may now be emerging, the current wave of communication-based progress has been substantially driven by powerful American corporations.

Many of our lives have been utterly transformed by the advent of internet shopping and the various types of social media. Many modern citizens are now prepared to use their credit cards online. Whatever directions these diverse phenomena take, it is not possible to imagine that large numbers of people could go back to previous ways of existence.

With the virtual world becoming so dominant, the requirement for a small firm to have a traditional office is becoming history. Virtual offices can work just fine and can provide the conventional office functions. It is even possible to suggest that the virtual office is the appropriate choice in a ‘virtualising’ age.