If you’re not familiar with the online virtual reality game the Sims, it’s a monumental time consumer featuring humanesque avatars whose daily lives are guided by the player. That’s right, it’s just like real life, only fake from inside a computer.

Today’s New York Times reports that wood pulp furniture giant Ikea announced a tie-in with the popular vid game making their product line available to players. For a price. That’s correct – game players can purchase with real money access to a pretend Ikea catalog in order to decorate their pretend two-dimensional homes with pretend collapsable furniture.

The real news here is that other marketers, including Ford and McDonalds, are already on board, either with free, downloadable content or product placement already imbedded in the games.

Here’s the question: shouldn’t the Sims community have the option to ride – sport, cruiser, chop, tour or dirt – instead of drive? Seems to us like an opportunity waiting to happen.