Dissertations

Today we discussed possible subject areas for our dissertations. I suggested that I might want to look at the importance of appearance in online worlds such as second life.
I found it quite interesting when I was told that there are a lot more men who create avatars in second life, yet there are a lot more women characters, therefore, a lot of male users prefer to play as women - is this living out some sort of fantasy, sexual or otherwise, or is it possibly the need and want to remain anonymous?
I also am intrigued by the amount of 'looks' and 'clothing' you can buy for your avatars, I wonder why people would want to spend real money, on a virtual outfit or change of appearance. Is this how they would like to look in real life? Or is it purely a game? In which case, why is their avatar's look so important that they'll spend money on it?
As well as this, I'd like to look at the influence of celebrity. The influence of celebrity on how people choose to dress in real life is huge, and there are always articles in magazines showing you how you can 'get their look'. This has leaked onto the Internet in recent years with sites such as ASOS (As Seen On Screen) who specialise in selling clothing that has been reproduced from outfits celebrities have been seen in, or clothing that is in their style. I'd like to know if this has also moved into virtual worlds such as Second Life, has anyone modeled their Avatar on a celebrity? If the user is female, and has modeled their Avatar on a female celebrity, is this because they aspire to be like that celebrity? etc.
I think that there is quite a broad spectrum of information for me to look at here, and quite a good mix of social activities that have been around for a while - ie; aspiring to be like a celebrity, and also new activities, ie; having duel lives - your real life, and your Second Life.