Really?  Did I just read that the maker of one of my favorite mobile games, Angry Birds, is going to be connecting the virtual world of slingshot flung bids and grunting pig heads with the physical world by using near field communications (NFC) and GPS?

Yup – as reported by ReadWiteWeb, Rovio (the Angry Birds game maker) will be making this announcement at the ReadWriteWeb 2WAY Summit taking place this week in New York City.

According to the article, game players with NFC-enabled phones will be able to unlock new levels and special birds by taping their mobile devices together or on NFC-enabled tags placed on merchandise like toys, books, or presumably just about anything. Taking the virtual-physical world connection a step further, when played in certain locations – that “make sense for the birds and the brand” - you will be able to access new location-specific features. Rivio also plans to offer a GPS-enabled version for those without NFC-enabled phones. 

This isn’t quite where I thought RFID and GPS would converge to reach thousands if not millions of consumers, but I guess you’ve got to start somewhere!

You’ve got to like the name too.  Known as Angry Birds Magic, the branding for Rivio's internet of things platform follows our affinity for adding magic to everyday things.

Angry Birds fan or not, share your thoughts on the convergence of auto-id technologies and the virtural world.  Where do we go from here?!