More than three-quarters of American companies and nonprofits that aren't already using video games and interactive software for training plan to use them within five years. Already, 70 percent of major employers are using games. A new study released yesterday by the Entertainment Software Association also found that 75 percent of those using the technologies plan to use them more often in the next three to five years.

That's a pretty ringing endorsement no matter how you cut it, and one federal agencies should heed.

In the press release announcing the study, Michael D. Gallagher, chief executive officer of the ESA, which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers, said, "Businesses across the spectrum, from automobile manufacturers to financial service providers, are utilizing entertainment software to help educate their employees."

What for?

Uses range from training in specific job functions and information technology to management and customer service training. The report, based on surveys of 150 large companies and non-profits in March, found that 77 percent of training programs test employee knowledge and 55 percent include interactive role playing.

It's not surprising that teaching and testing are the most common uses for games. More and more evidence shows that education packaged in this form is terrifically effective. And don't just take it from me. Listen to former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Sunday's Washington Post featured her new project, "Our Courts," a game to teach children (and the rest of us) about the workings of the judicial system, inspired by watching her grandchildren. "We need to impart what we know by using the medium which they know," she said at a Games for Change conference in New York this spring.

If you're still not convinced of the heuristic punch of engagement and immersion, then have a look at "The ReDistricting Game." Created for the University of Southern California's Annenberg Center for Communications by the USC Game Innovation Lab -- part of the USC School of Cinematic Arts' Interactive Media Division -- the game manages to infuse drama and energy into a subject most of us usually find, well, boring at best. Not only that, but it's cool and helps you remember, too. I mean, where else can you watch a voting district morph into a dragon and eat politicians?

Seriously, now, there's more evidence of the workplace ubiquity and usefulness of interactive software in a new report out this week from Forrester Research Inc., "Case Study: IBM's Visionary Foray into Web 3D." In it, analyst Connie Moore explains how IBM in 2006 kicked off a new business, Web 3D, including an internal 3D intranet and a Second Life presence.

IBM's approach focuses on transformation, rather than garnering hard return on investment for every effort. Web3D adoption is growing all by itself with little central control. Instead, the 385,000-person company's efforts to embed Web3D are driven by a 6,000-member Virtual Universe Community whose work is mostly voluntary!

Examples of IBM's gains via virtual worlds, immersive workplaces and learning simulations include:

Virtual data center operations -- The company extracts operating, air flow, temperature and other information from its 8 million square feet of data center space worldwide and feeds it into an immersive 3D environment built on a virtual world platform. A 3D map shows how servers are connected. In the 3D center, administrators see hot spots as flames and can visualize data flow, energy consumption and server utilization to manage the entire data center environment. The company expects the virtual center will allow it to double data center capacity in three years with no increase in power usage.

Software developer collaboration -- Project Bluegrass is a 3D virtual environment where developers work, chat and brainstorm around a virtual water cooler and interact with one another as avatars discussing data models, work flows, etc.

Customer interaction -- IBM's customer briefing center in Second Life draws companies interesting in virtual worlds, but not yet involved, that are looking for advice from a trusted partner. IBM.com broke even on the center in seven months due to new leads and new business generated there.

Virtual rehearsal -- Rehearsal Studio, a simulator where employees can rehearse customer interactions, job tasks and the like, allows recording of sessions to provide feedback. Users say interacting as avatars lets them take more risks, test judgments and see results faster.

And in answer to Allan Holmes' skepticism about virtual training earlier in this forum, IBM research shows on-the-job virtual learning can make learning happen 10 times faster and cut costs by a factor of 10.

Reduced costs -- An in-world session in late 2004 gathered 400 learning professionals for three days at a cost of less than $10,000. Flying them in for three days would have been so cost prohibitive that the meeting never would have happened, managers told Moore.

So, while skepticism is an easy and acceptable response to games and virtual worlds at work, openness probably is a wiser one. Moore urges her customers to follow IBM's lead and experiment. One of the key lessons she draws from IBM is that Web3D is an area where managers should "loosen the reins a little and encourage people to let their imaginations run wild."

Just a reminder: Don't miss my Webinar on Thursday, June 26, at 2 p.m., with Army simulation guru Roger Smith. We'll be talking about how gaming technology has revolutionized the way the Army trains.