Visit any rainy afternoon to see it in action.
Children read books and play.
It's a classic example of how a good community can boost company sales. And it's doable online. Take the experience of PharmQuest, a maker of software for the pharmaceutical industry and a true believer in this emerging form of virtual commercial community. Message boards, news and feature sections, and chat areas all were designed to let this relatively small band of about 100,000 pharmaceutical professionals socialize among themselves. But it also gave PharmQuest a place to communicate directly with its customers.