Danny Ayers blogged something about avatars that should read your blog.

Ok, my unshaved picture on the top may be a start, please imagine now myself reading loud....

But on the other hand, it is true that "being online" can also mean that your "avatar" is moving around and talking on the "cyberspace".
I have to define the three things again:

• Being online - to have your brain think about some resources on the web (or your own computer). Your attention is on the resource in the information world - aka cyberspace
• Avatar - a representation of yourself in the information world - cyberspace
• Cyberspace - the semantic web of tomorrow, where we can hang around and consume and produce information. Also the place where we see other people, when they hang around a certain resource.

These three things are part of building "cyberspace now". I would go the easy way of looking at the datastructures that are used in online games like Ultima Online or Everquest. Then take these structures, RDF them and build a server that is capable of hosting some people (f.e. our DFKI workgroup).
Then go around and fill the empty space with data. And "going around" means that all websites you visit show other visitors that you are "there".

oh cool. If anyone wants to code this, I am in.