It's a thread called "Long Distance Family in SL." Take a gander at it! There are a number of stories there about families far-flung in real life, who gather in SL, and I'm sure a lot more such families are in the game, too, that an enterprising reporter might uncover.
If a writer is looking to do a general sort of story on SL, this is a great angle to give them a heads up on, and this particular thread is a great lead!
coco