Avatars are widely used on the Web, actually, I remember creating a 'persona' during my high school days...it was called D & D.

These days Avatars are a way for people to hide behind, or take on a new internet personality.

Some just use it for a moniker, others live a 'second life' with one. Some have chosen to educate with them. In "The secret life of avatars by Internet Strategies for Education Markets: The Heller Report, Sept. 2002" it quotes an article about how educators are using avatars of popular children's TV personalities to enhance learning. The avatar acts like a nurturing teacher, always patient and able to go at the child's speed and to catch any failings in the child's root knowledge. 

"One of the patented capabilities of the avatar is the ability to create a personality and imbue it with an intelligence," he says, though he maintains that he is "not talking about replacing teachers." Plant

Now, my question is 'What would happen if students were the ones to create and live through a language learning experience under the guise of an avatar?

Language Ego issues would be less of an issue for the language learner.

Now, how can this be implemented for the classroom?