On Second Life, the virtual-reality platform, Jeff Joerres is a barrel-chested bodybuilder with a mop of bright blonde hair. In the flesh, the chief executive of Manpower is somewhat less musclebound and his hair is starting to thin. "What am I going to do, be a 90-year-old man?" he laughs. "It's called Second Life for a reason."

Aesthetic improvement is only one reason Mr Joerres is enthusiastic about Second Life. From his perspective at the top of one of the world's biggest recruitment companies, Mr Joerres says that such virtual worlds and social networking websites are transforming the world of work. Increasingly, he says, "work will get done that way and people will find work that way".