Hi:
My assumption is the folks at IBM wanted to host some internal meetings in SL, and not allow anyone, including Linen Labs, to sniff their conversation traffic. I'd further assume -- well, it'd have to be if they are behind corperate firewalls -- that these sims aren't accessible to anyone outside IBM.
Sounds like a win-win for all involved. LL got a trustable tech savvy company to test something they've likely wanted tested for some time.
-s