Found this article today, in Paris people are using Second Life to showcase ideas for the renovation of Les Halles.
“Les Halles was the central wholesale market for the Paris region until the 1970s when it was razed to the ground to make way for a shopping centre. It is also a major underground hub and redevelopment plans for the area include renovating the garden.
But local residents’ association Accomplir (Accomplish) says residents have not been consulted over the gardens which they say are at the heart of local life.”
So what better way to deal with this problem but to take it online!
The association is urging locals to come up with their own ideas for the area’s gardens and post them in the online world of Second Life…Accomplir will shortlist five of the best projects, which will then be displayed on an island in Second Life.
The winner will be announced at the end of June and receive a reward of 275,000 linden dollars (785 euros, £530), the currency used in Second Life.
Accomplir will then go to the town hall with the winning idea, aiming to put pressure on officials to speed up the redevelopment process.
Oh, the endless possibilities of the internet never cease to amaze me.
Loaded Learning 
Hey thanks for you comment.
On Second Life I can think of another example from France, though I do not have the link to the story. It concerns the fact that a fascist political party in France set up virtual headquarterse which were subsequently vandalized by dissenters and the scene of a virtual riot.
Interestingly, many American presidential candidates have set up headquarters in Second Life, but compared to their French counterparts, these places are synthetic ghost towns. I wonder why the French feel so much more inclined to take their politics into Secondd Life than Americans?