'Virtual Shopping Malls' - A huge opportunity for FaceBook

During the last decade on-line retail has definitely been one of the most impressive subsectors of the global economy with CAGR of more than 10% in many countries (Foster Research, 2007). On-line retail has been dominated by large retailers, such as Amazon, E-bay, Office Depot, Staples, that have been offering a quick and focused tool for shopping but not a lot more than that.
None of the key players is really trying to imitate our real experience of shopping. Why? Isn't the trend of social networks such as MySpace or FaceBook a sufficient hint that surfers are looking for something more than merely consuming content? What could be the next stage in the evolution of B2C?
In the 90s there were former attempts to build 'virtual shopping malls', arenas where customers would not necessarily find more information about desired products than that on Amazon or better prices than those offered on E-Bay, but will enjoy a web-adventure that mimics the real world shopping. All of them have failed. Buy why?
(For a graphic illustration of virtual Shopping and more info about former attempts visit http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/virtual_shopping_comeback.php)

Many others have tried to analyze different factors, mainly timing and user application, yet unlike most bloggers, I see the existence of 'virtual shopping malls' as inseparable from other leading websites. I truly believe that primary mistake done so far was to launch those shopping arenas as independent websites.
To launch such 'second life' platform successfully (at list in the short-run), I assume that the virtual shopping malls ought to be combined with the social network platforms. Just picture yourself a Facebook application in which users could enter and navigate in a virtual shopping mall with a 3D environment and interact with other random shoppers or even better with their own friends(!).
It's only a matter of time till the social network will understand the potential embedded when you merge social and consumer platforms. Maybe that's the answer to how the social networks are going to consistently produce profits to match their soaring valuations.

In the future, I promise to buy my followers of the blog a virtual mocha-chino when we'll go together to the virtual mall to buy the twentieth or so Harry Potter book….

Gadi