For some reason, while many pickets wear red union t-shirts and carry the traditional placards setting out their demands, a few others are completely naked. One or two sport fluffy tails. From time to time, individuals fly off – literally – to other locations.

Why is this so weird, and so different from a standard picket line? Well, mostly because the protest is not taking place in real life. This is the first ever industrial dispute in Second Life – the virtual reality world in which the laws of nature are rather different.

This is a world in which you can choose and edit your own body – or avatar; you can walk, fly or teleport over large though unreal distances. And an increasing number of companies have begun to see the possibility of doing business here.

One of these, computer giant IBM, which operates business centres staffed by real sales executives inside Second Life, now faces a protest organised by the union which represents its Italian workforce and their allies in the international trade union movement.

The protest is over that most First Life of issues, pay. According to the union:

“During the talks to renew IBM’s Italian internal collective agreement, the works council, supported by the majority of IBM Italy employees, asked for a small salary increase. IBM responded by cancelling their ‘productive results benefit’, resulting in a loss of €1000 per year for each employee. For a company that wants to lead in corporate social responsibility, this is unacceptable.”

The union responded by calling today’s protest, organised through Uni (Union Network International), a global union network claiming 15 million members in 900 unions worldwide including affiliates in the UK.

Using email, blog and union networks, it has invited supporters from around the world to join their picket lines at IBM’s virtual “islands” in Second Life, which it uses to promote the company and build new links with customers.

Real-life protest pickets outside IBM offices in Italy will accompany the virtual picket with workers handing out information on the dispute.

UNI’s general secretary, New York-based Philip Jennings said: “This is the first ever union action in the virtual world.”

He added: “Wherever companies go we shall pursue them if they behave badly. It opens new avenues for industrial pressure in the future and brings greater involvement in trade union activities for younger, computer-savvy members.”

“Businesses like IBM are using the new opportunities of the Internet and virtual space like Second Life to reach customers - but they cannot have that space to themselves.”

As the union admitted on its protest blog, things did not go entirely smoothly. Protesters had been asked to gather at an island where they would be issued with protest kits before teleporting to an IBM business centre. Unfortunately, the teleporters wouldn’t work.

There were also concerns that what are known in Second Life as “griefers” might show up and try to disrupt the event. Griefers are the sort of anti-social online gamers who cause problems by insulting other avatars or behaving inappropriately.

So far I haven’t seen any griefing activity, but the day is young, and the protest is set to go on until 9pm tonight.

After visiting the strike meeting point this morning, I teleported to IBM’s main office in Second Life. There I talked to a protest helper who told me that things were pretty quiet. He was doing good business collecting names on a petition and suggested I try the IBM Italy office.

Once there, I found about a dozen protesters milling around – a not terribly different scene to most real world picket lines – but no sign of any IBM staffers.

One protest coordinator at IBM Italia said the company was keeping a low profile. But he hoped the picket would gain publicity for the union’s campaign and force a response from the company.

For now, a small but decidedly international crowd of protesters appeared to be enjoying themselves. So with pressing matters to deal with in first life, I made my excuses and left.