Virtual money to real income

If people doubted – or never thought about - the real-world value of virtual economies (their children probably didn’t), the BBC has challenged any skepticism. “The possibility of making real money from virtual creations is the subject of the latest episode of the BBC show The Money Programme,” CNET reports. The show, which aired last Friday and was broadcast on both regular and virtual TV (the latter in the virtual world Second Life), explored the various ways real money is made in online worlds such as Lord of the Rings Online and Second Life, where “$600,000 changes hands every day,” according to CNET. “Some people, for example, hold down virtual jobs on the site while others sell unique clothing styles [for avatars in these worlds].” Others buy and sell artifacts (such as weapons in World of Warcraft) and advertising. “One Second Life virtual-real-estate agent recently claimed to have become the game's first real-life millionaire.”