Communities of Practice - Can it work on-line?

We've been looking at the notion of building communities of practice, and whether or not it is possible to create what is essentially a social network in an on-line environment.

As Etienne Wenger defines CoP:

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.

Our assignment is to replicate the conditions using a Dreamweaver created site. I'll keep you posted.