virtual economy

(Newser) - Italian police are investigating a bizarre theft: the complete ransacking of a virtual home. A Palermo woman says a digital thief emptied her seven-room home in the Facebook game Pet Society, leaving only her virtual cat behind. The damage? $140 in payments for furniture, paintings, mirrors, and pet outfits, the...

(Newser) - The real economy is mired in recession, but on sites like Second Life, the virtual economy's booming. Thanks to opportunities for entrepreneurs in everything from hats to land, user-to-user transactions totaled to over $567 million in real dollars last year. "The barriers to entry are really, really low for...

(Newser) - The virtual Entropia Universe—Planet Calypso, in particular—might be entering a real estate boom with the recent purchase of the Crystal Palace space station for $330,000, a record for a virtual item. That’s right: A player who goes by Buzz “Erik” Lightyear paid the sum for...