The CTO of Intel, Justin Rattner will be giving a keynote presentation entitled: “Research & Development: Virtual Worlds – The Rise of the 3D Internet” at the Fall Intel Developer Forum. Rattner is is responsible for leading Intel's microprocessor, communications and systems technology labs and Intel Research, so it's significant that he's chosen virtual worlds as the topic for the keynote.
Of course, it's no secret that Intel have been taking virtual worlds seriously. They have been demonstrating software in their Second Life builds of course, but have also been contracting with companies like Qwaq to develop tools for creating virtual worlds. It will be interesting to find out what Rattner reveals about Intel's long-term plans in this area.
The Fall Intel Developer Forum will be in San Francisco on September 20th, and will most likely be webcast either live or shortly thereafter. We'll keep you posted.