Elvis is still alive! ... in a virtual world

Elvis Presley is being resurrected once again — this time as an avatar with fellow singer and Memphis native — Justin Timberlake in a "virtual" world in which visitors can assume the two stars' identities as they network or play online games.

"This is uncharted territory for other celebrities getting involved," said Graceland spokesman Kevin Kern, who said virtual worlds hold "huge potential for revenue from virtual goods."

Visitors to Gaia Online, one of the biggest virtual world gaming sites in the country, choose an avatar, or character, to represent themselves and can enhance or accessorize the character by buying items that represent the real-life character.

For Elvis, items for sale include blue suede shoes, a pompadour and a guitar. For Timberlake, they include a personalized microphone and a fedora.

"Items for sale on the site range from 50 cents to $9.99," said Gaia Online vice president Scott Kinzie in San Jose, Calif.

Kinzie said Gaia has used two other celebrities, Snoop Dogg and The Incredible Hulk, as avatars and decided to use rock stars as the next venture. The choices were easy, he said.

"With Justin, well, he's Justin and is popular with everyone right now," Kinzie said. "Elvis is a bit more of a conceptual stretch for our audience, but he's a big part of the culture. So you kind of put icons together, one from the past, one from the present."

For Elvis, new formats are becoming second nature. Graceland has been staging "Elvis Live" concerts for years with Elvis appearing on video with live members of his former band. In death, he has ridden in a convertible with Dolly Parton in a Tennessee tourism commercial and sung a duet onstage with his daughter, Lisa Marie.

He stood beside Celine Dion for a duet on "American Idol" last year and welcomed country superstar Martina McBride last month to join him in a duet of ``Blue Christmas'' as part of his "'68 Comeback Special."

Kern said virtual Elvis is one of 5,000 Elvis products licensed worldwide. Licensing fees are negotiated separately for each product and are not disclosed, he said.

In a virtual world, users can create their own vision of a character, including the potential of an evil Elvis or a jerk of a Justin. But Kinzie said users tend to behave online.

"We're a social community and go out of our way to create an environment where people can behave like themselves. We ban users who are misbehaving. At the end of the day, we all have a responsibility to behave online."

To visit Gaia Online's virtual world, where you can create an Elvis Presley, Justin Timberlake or other "avatar," go to gaiaonline.com/celebritysnare