Have you played WoW at all? Not many would argue that interaction is “limited”. The chat functionality is quite extensive (some aspects are vastly superior to say Second Life) and there are constant ad-hoc social gatherings, particularly in the main cities. Sure, there are predefined goals, but that's only one aspect of the game.

I'd beg to differ on the idea that Farmville etc aren't virtual environments – they may be dinky and have more limited avatar-to-avatar interaction options, but they still certainly fit the bill. Also, I didn't say Second Life was the measuring stick but it's hard to refute the fact it offers the most comprehensive content creation options around, with OpenSim and others catching up pretty damn quick. Finally, no argument that there's a bunch of great MMOs on the way, though Star Wars: The Old Republic isn't slated for release until April 2011 at the earliest.