Cyber relationships

I was very intrigued by the conversation we had in class the other day that broached the question, "If you walked in on our significant other having "avatar sex" with another avatar, would you consider that cheating?" My first reaction was no, that would not constitute as cheating because it's not a real sexual interaction - a sexual encounter between two virtual characters in a virtual world would be virtual sex, thus not real. With more thought, though, I began to think differently. If my significant other was having a relationship with another avatar in second life, that would signify to me that they were unsatisfied with the relationship they were currently in and thus turning elsewhere to satisfy a desire. Though it is in a virtual world, it is the same as if they were to turn to another person and have a real affair with them. Whether or not there is an actual physical connection, the intent of turning to someone else to fulfill a desire that is not being satiated in the real world relationship constitutes as cheating. Consequently, I also believe that "dating," someone in second life is also a form of cheating because again, it is forming a relationship with someone else. Even though it may seem removed because the avatar creatures do not look like real humans, there is always a person behind every avatar. Some equate virtual sex with watching pornography, believing that both are not forms of cheating, but I also disagree with this statement because of the fact that there is a person behind the other avatar, whereas pornography is just a film. This leads me to believe that people playing second life need to be very careful not to blur the lines of what is real and what is virtual, because your actions in second life can impact your real life.