virtual - definition

Any product designed to give the effect of another product.

The term virtual means: 'on effect, though not in fact or by strict definition.'
The distinction ‘virtual’ is a very interesting one. If we consider all technologies as an extension of the human that created them, then we could consider all technologies to be ‘virtual’.
For example, if the wheel is an extension of the foot we could call it a virtual foot. It is not a foot and it gives us the effect of a foot enabling us to travel over varying distances.
For me, with a background in architecture, clothing and buildings as an extension of our skin is a useful metaphor. If we look in more detail, our skin is the envelope that protects our inner organs and modifies the effect of weather to keep the body temperature relatively stable to enable us to go on thinking, growing and living. Clothes form a similar role in that they modify the weather allowing us to live in a much wider range of climates than without them. (Living in Europe in winter without clothes would not be a lot of fun!) If we take this one step further, buildings play a similar role.