Photo: Halstead Property via The New York Times
An article in today's New York Times describes an alternative to actual staging -- using virtual furnishings to enhance photos for real estate listings.  There are plenty of interesting statistics in here to support the use of any kind of staging, but virtual staging is worth investigating, because it's so reasonably priced and simple.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/31/realestate/31posting.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Here are the virtual staging companies that do the most convincing work.

http://virtuallystagingproperties.com/index.html 

http://virtualstagingsolutions.com/?gclid=CNbcqP-H_aQCFUmA5QodUGlGig

I write about the advantages and disadvantages of virtual staging in my eBook, DIY Home Staging Tips.