Real money in a virtual world

CNET News.com: "An average day in suburbia? Not quite. This is a day inside 'Second Life,' a virtual world created by San Francisco-based game developer Linden Lab.

Welcome to the virtual economy, where currencies such as the Linden dollar trade against the U.S. dollar, companies like Internet Gaming Entertainment (IGE) create markets for everything from magic shields to potions, and entrepreneurs sell notary services and the latest fashions. One of the most popular games, 'World of Warcraft,' reached 1 million North American players in August, three months ahead of its first anniversary. The games are particularly hot in America and Asia. After 'World of Warcraft' was released in China last June, 1.5 million paying customers signed up in a month.

Such ventures--known as massively multiplayer online role-playing games--have spawned economies that would rival those of a small country but fly largely under the radar of economists, government statisticians and people beyond the 12- to 35-year-old demographic. However, these economies are becoming increasingly important, says Wharton legal studies professor Dan Hunter, adding that they could redefine the concept of work, help test economic theories and contribute to the gross domestic product in the United States. 'Increasingly, these virtual economies are leading to real money trades,' notes Hunter, one of a handful of academics closely following this trend. "