Search
Related Links

 

 

Informative Articles

Choosing the Right Forex Broker
If you've already made the decision to go ahead and start trading forex, the first step you need to take is to choose the right forex broker. Currency brokers vary more than the U.S. Investment houses, so you really need to do your homework...

Currency Trading - An Introduction
The simplest definition of currency trading is the practice of exchanging one country's currency for another country's currency. Basically, currency trading involves four main variables: currencies, exchange rate, time, and interest rate. The...

Forex Trading: Create Fantastic Wealth From Forex Trading
What is currency trading? How can you get rich and powerful from currency trading? Who can do currency trading? Can you do currency trading from any country of the world? Until six years ago, when the United States Congress passed a law and...

How Do Other Countries Devalue Their Currencies?
Countries devalue their currencies only when they have no other way to correct past economic mistakes - whether their own or mistakes committed by their predecessors. The ills of a devaluation are still at least equal to its...

How To Choose A FOREX Broker
Most investors who trade FOREX stocks use a broker. A broker is an individual or a company, who buys and sells stocks according to the investor's wishes. Brokers earn money by collecting commissions or fees for their services. You should check that...

 
Real life dollars buy virtual game money?



Will people pay real dollars for in-game virtual money to help their virtual characters buy in-game goods?





One gamer, who goes by the screen name Haylo, said he spent $10 to $20 real dollars a month on in-game platinum(all nonexistent, of course) to buy weapons and other goods in Dark Age of Camelot (DAOC), but would spend more if he could afford it.





Most video games have some form of currency. In many ways, the in-game economy is similar to a real world economy - goods and services are traded to mutual advantage and are mediated in currency (platinum, gold, credit,etc.). "With all the things you can buy in game," a gamer said, "it's hard not to want them, just like real-life stuff."





The average Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game(MMORPG) player is 27-year-old -- a demographic drooled over by marketers. Plus, nearly half of all players have jobs, which often means they have more money than time and are the perfect consumers of virtual assets. On the Internet, many gamers now buy virtual money that only exist as data files stored in a server run by a game company with real-world dollars, and the buying and selling of virtual currencies may be off most people's radar, but it is truly big business.





An online broker, who goes by the screen name Rolala, was not a fan of online games until his 15-year-old son became interested in Final Fantasy XI. He then noticed that a large number of gils which are the currencies used in FFXI were for sale on eBay.





"I started hearing about players leaving the game who were selling their assets at cheap prices," he said, "so I figured, buy low, sell high."





But Rolala found his moneymaking options in FFXI "very limited". He switched to World of Warcraft. There, he has leveraged his real-life experience into an online business. He converts his game profits into real money on sites like "eBay" and "buy wow gold" ,etc. Earnings can be considerable. He said he was on track to earn about $120,000 in real money in his first year in this business.





Rolala's business is just one example of how increasingly popular online role-playing games have created a shadow economy in which the lines between the real world and the virtual world are getting blurred.





"World of Warcraft", the world's largest MMORPG, boasts more than 1 million paying users in North America.There are many sites like wow gold free strategics and world of warcraft gold guide , teaching gamers how to earn wow gold in game for free, however many players are still willing to buy gold and weapons to help their virtual characters get a higher virtual status more rapidly. Some virtual goods in World of Warcraft have been sold for thousands of dollars. It obviously creates a large real world market. 





Edward Castronova, an economics professor at Indiana University who has written a book on the subject, calculated that if you took the real dollars spent within "EverQuest "as an index, its game world, called Norrath, would be the 77th richest nation on the planet, while annual player earnings surpass those of citizens of Bulgaria, India or China.





Go to GameUSD, an exchange-rate calculator for the virtual worlds, and do a search for the latest rates of virtual currencies against the U.S. dollar, and let your jaw drop open. The rates of some virtual world currencies are even better than that of the Iraqi Dinar! For instance, here is the recent exchange rate of several popular virtual currencies:


Everquest Plat ($0.54/1K), EQ2 Gold ($0.17/gold), WOW Gold ( World of Warcraft Gold ) ($0.098/gold), SWG Credit ($4.40/1M), Lineage 2 adena ($2.80/1M), Guild Wars Gold ($0.12/1K), FFXI Gil ($17.89/1M), etc.





Right now, this business is one of the most hotly debated issues on the internet. Many game companies such as Blizzard who run World of Warcraft discourage profit from in-game properties, though none have found a way to stop it.





Sony Online Entertainment, on the other hand, encourages the practice (albeit within the confines of their own "Station Exchange", their own forum for the sale of in-game properties). It recently announced the first month's figures from "Station Exchange". According to SOE, over 45,000 characters from "EverQuest 2" have been active on the exchange and have spent over $180,000 USD in one month, half of which have been spent on in-game gold and platinum.





Despite of different attitudes towards virtual currency trade, the number of people who are getting into such business is rising, and the size of market has been expanding very rapidly.The market also creates a competitive environment. We could refer to sites like wow gold price comparison , a price comparison site, to see the fierce price competition between different exchange sites.





For some ordinary gamers, however, such a capitalist approach spoils the experience. Nick Yee, a psychology researcher from Stanford University, believes many players dislike virtual currency traders because, by using real wealth to buy virtual power, "they're breaking the fantasy-reality bubble, getting an advantage in a way that other players can't".





According to a recent survey by IGN, an internet media focused on the videogame markets, most gamers say they dislike and avoid this business, believing that it gives players with more discretionary income an unfair advantage.





But such attitudes are called into question by size estimates for the virtual asset trading market, which is seen having a value of $200 million to nearly $900 million in 2005.





One potential explanation for the disconnection between attitudes and money spent may be that gamers are unwilling to admit they use the services, IGN said.





In terms of the law's concern, another issue is, who owns the virtual money? Many virtual world designers maintain that anything created in the world belong to the company. They refuse to recognise the rights of their players in the virtual property for fear of attracting liability for its maintenance or security.





But will this work in the long term? Players spend considerable time and/or money acquiring such assets. In many cases they are the creation of the player and even the intellectual property ownership is questionable. "As we spend more time in these worlds, it's not enough for companies to say that 'we own everything and we can turn it off at any time,'" said a gamer. "The question may soon be should we have recourse against a game company for obliterating virtual assets?"





With the rapid growth of virtual currency exchange market, should people accord virtual property the same protection as property in the real world?





About the author:

Steven Golden have conducted research into Virtual Game Economy for several years.You can read his recent articles at: http://groups.msn.com/virtualeconomy

 

Currency Trading, Forex Trading, Forex, Online Currency Trading
Offers 24 hour online currency trading for institutions and professional traders.
www.fxcm.com
 
OANDA FXGame - Currency Trading Demo Platform
You can start playing the currency trading market with real market conditions ... The platform was created with the goal of making currency trading ...
fxgame.oanda.com
 
Forex | Forex Trading | Forex Minis | Online Currency Trading
FOREX.com - THE site for forex trading. 24hr commission-free currency trading w/ real time execution and guaranteed fills. Forex mini accounts from $250, ...
www.forex.com
 
Currency Trading News, Forex Trading News, FX News, Forex News
Currency Trading News, Forex Trading News, FX News, Forex News - Daily FX.
www.dailyfx.com
 
Currencies - Currency Converter & Latest Rates at CNNMoney.com
Dec 6 1:18pm ET †, US $, UK £, Japan ¥, Euro €. US $, 0.5079, 115.05, 0.7517. UK £, 1.969, 226.50, 1.4798. Japan ¥, 0.008692, 0.004415, 0.006533 ...
money.cnn.com
 
FOREX Advisory
The CFTC urges you to be skeptical when promoters of foreign currency trading claim that their services or account management will earn high profits with ...
www.cftc.gov
 
Forex Trading: Online Currency Trading from Global Forex Trading
Global Forex Trading is the premier online foreign currency trading firm and a primary market maker. To learn more about forex trading, visit GFTForex.com.
www.gftforex.com
 
Amazon.com: Foreign Currency Trading: From the Fundamentals to the ...
Amazon.com: Foreign Currency Trading: From the Fundamentals to the Fine Points: Books: Russell Wasendorf by Russell Wasendorf.
www.amazon.com
 
Forex, Online Currency Trading, FX, Foreign Exchange | ACM Forex
Forex Trading with The Forex Broker. ACM offers online currency trading, commission-free, tax-free, lowest forex spreads on the market, guaranteed fills, ...
www.ac-markets.com
 
OANDA FXTrade - Currency Trading, Forex Trading, Online Currency ...
Currency Trading with FXTrade, leader in online currency trading, provides real-time execution, free forex charts and quotes, and 24 hour forex trading.
https:
 
Forex-Day-Trading.com - Currency Trading with FREE Training
Learn how to day trade currencies with our free training. Try a free forex trading demo for 30 days.
www.forex-day-trading.com
 
Forex Online Currency Trading: Welcome to Global Forex
Global Forex offers online currency forex trading at inter-bank FOREX rates. Try our FREE online forex demo trading system.
www.globalforex.com
 
Forex trading - Realtime Forex online currency trading
Realtime Forex offers commission-free online currency trading on live foreign exchange prices. Realtime Forex’s currency trading service also includes free ...
www.realtimeforex.com
 
Forex Blog
Forex news blog with daily commentary. Has a good beginner's article.
www.forexblog.org
 
Common Questions About Currency Trading
Whether you're puzzled by pips or curious about carry trades, your queries are answered here.
www.investopedia.com
 
OANDA FXTrade - Currency Trading Basics
Currency Trading Basics. Exchange Rates and Spreads: ... In currency trading, these codes are often used to express which specific currencies make up a ...
fxtrade.oanda.com
 
Currency trading, free forex charts, news and analysis
Online currency trading with technical analysis, charts and forex news.
www.gfforex.com
 
Finance - Currency-Trading Ezine Articles
EzineArticles.com allows ezine or email list publishers to upload or download free expert content that can be used within email newsletters or websites.
ezinearticles.com
 
MGFOREX
MG Financial Group - Forex, FX, Online Forex Trading.
www.mgforex.com
 
DirectoryM - Debt Settlement Solutions
Simply provide your contact details and describe your needs to receive a free consultation from business or personal debt service providers.
www.directorym.com
 
 

 

Content Menu
  • 5 reasons to trade forex instead of stocks

  • 6 ways to buy real estate without a deposit

  • advantages of trading forex over stocks and commodities

  • advice for international investors on how to safeguard their profits

  • all the truth around e currency

  • american blind pools

  • an explanation of forex trading

  • an informative forex broker review

  • an open invitation to frustrated forex traders that desire unlimited success in the market part 1

  • ask for more you may get it

  • assessing the opportunities presented by the new iraqi currency

  • avoiding forex related frauds and scams

  • avoiding forex related frauds scams

  • a beginners guide to forex

  • a comprehensive forex broker register

  • a guide to swiss banking part 1

  • a guide to swiss banking part 2

  • a informative forex broker review

  • a look at forex market makers

  • a look at online forex brokers

  • a new and better way for pensions

  • a new and better way with pensions

  • a review of automated forex brokers

  • a short introduction to forex

  • bankers banks the role of central banks in banking crises

  • beginning forex how are lots traded what the heck is a pip

  • benefits of forex trading

  • bollinger bands

  • business and the forex

  • buying your tax haven corporation

  • choosing a forex broker

  • choosing a forex strategy

  • choosing ecurrency exchange training courses what should you look for

  • choosing the right forex broker

  • comments on forex trading account sizes lots and margin calls

  • currency trading an introduction

  • currency trading finding your niche

  • currency trading for internet profits

  • currency trading getting wealthy from currency trading program

  • currency trading how big is this thing

  • currency trading is not the monopoly of the nerds and the geeks

  • currency trading the future of investment

  • currency trading tips for beginners

  • currency trading understanding the basics of currency trading

  • day trading forex market behaviour

  • discover an effective forex trading system

  • discover the biggest trading investing online mistake

  • dont be a victim of cybercrime

  • dxout e currency exchange program and free training

  • emotions a traders worst enemy get rid of fear and greed youll be glad you did

  • energy prices inflation and forex

  • example of a profitable transaction in forex

  • export to america

  • e currency exchange scam

  • e currency exchange trading

  • e currency if forest gump was here this is what he would be doing

  • e gold investing make money with currency trading

  • e gold investments investing smartly with e currency exchange

  • factors influencing a currency pair exchange rate

  • fear and the profitable forex trader

  • financial trading so many markets so little time

  • five reasons you have to start forex trading

  • forexinterbank forex trading course for day traders and small investors focusing on forex pivot point trading

  • forex 101

  • forex 101 make money with currency trading

  • forex and daytrading

  • forex and the anatomy of an elliot wave

  • forex basics make money with money part 1

  • forex benefits of trading the forex market

  • forex benefits over futures

  • forex brokers

  • forex brokers helping to maximize your success

  • forex broker commissions

  • forex broker involvement optional

  • forex capital markets and foreign exchange transactions

  • forex currency trading basics

  • forex day trading

  • forex expertadvisor mechanical trading systems what every trader should know

  • forex glossary

  • forex made easy for everyone

  • forex market offers opportunity and information

  • forex online trading an introduction

  • forex pivot points mapping your time frame

  • forex profits

  • forex scams how to spot them a mile away

  • forex signal services

  • forex trading

  • forex trading and the characteristics of bar and candlestick charts

  • forex trading best practices

  • forex trading can be like day trading

  • forex trading create fantastic wealth from forex trading

  • forex trading for the little guy

  • forex trading how to create fantastic wealth from forex trading

  • forex trading indicators and the ever changing market conditions

  • forex trading investment secret of the rich and powerful

  • forex trading margin usage and introduction to hedging

  • forex trading online 7 reasons why you should

  • forex trading online 7 reasons you should

  • forex trading opportunities for individuals

  • forex trading platform

  • forex trading risky business

  • forex trading strategies

  • forex trading the perfect forex trading system

  • forex trading tips

  • forex trading understanding commissions spreads and trading costs

  • forex training follow your gut or your broker

  • forex versus futures

  • forex versus stocks

  • forex what is it and how does it work

  • forex why psychiatrists make better traders than expert economists

  • generate traffic and make money

  • getting a forex trading education

  • gods diplomacy international trade and the macedonian economy

  • going global

  • gold heading to 1 000 an ounce 13 reasons why this can happen

  • gold miningstocks com reports industry expert forecasts for gold stock investment strategies

  • goodbye multi level marketing and hello e currency exhcange

  • go public young cfo go public

  • hawala or the bank that never was

  • hawala or the bank that never was part i

  • home based business opportunity secrets of success in home based business opportunity exposed

  • honest business opportunity or fraud

  • how bollinger bands can tell you what the forex market will do next

  • how can i make money currency trading

  • how does foreign exchange affect your business

  • how does forex compare to other investment markets

  • how does the exchange rate exactly works

  • how do other countries devalue their currencies

  • how is forex trading at home possible

  • how i quickly doubled my money

  • how many forex order types there are and how to use them in your favor

  • how to choose a forex broker

  • how to choose wisely a forex broker

  • how to make big profits with currency trading systems

  • how to profit from ben bernanke a volatile federal reserve

  • how to save money on your overseas property purchase

  • how to sell hobby items by mail

  • how to start trading the forex market

  • how to start trading the forex market part 2

  • how to start trading the forex market part 3

  • how to start trading the forex market part 4

  • how to start trading the forex market part 5

  • how to trade currency

  • if you start your own home business what sort of business would you choose

  • impress your date with forex trading lingo

  • income opportunities for adventurers

  • index

  • interested in forex trading

  • internet marketing vs forex currency trading

  • introduction to bollinger bands a great help in forex trading

  • introduction to forex

  • introduction to forex trading

  • introduction to fundamental analysis forex

  • investing how to profit using formulas

  • investing in forex or investing in stocks understand the benefits and risks of each market

  • investing vs trading who cares anyway

  • investments short term or long term

  • investment formulas what purpose do they serve

  • investors what separates the good traders from the bad traders

  • is forex trading better than stocks

  • is my money safe on the soundness of our banks

  • is our money safe part ii

  • is there any money left in currency trading

  • is this really a recovery

  • is trading e currency a legitimate business

  • learn by hands on forex trading demo accounts vs mini accounts

  • learn currency trade intro to the forex market

  • learn forex

  • learn forex trading a guide for beginners

  • managing bank liquidity in real time

  • managing the forex accounts for you

  • mazu e currency exchange

  • mazu e currency exchange home business

  • mazu e currency exchange program

  • mazu e currency program and sports arbitrage trading reviewed

  • mazu review

  • money laundering in a changed world

  • money laundering in a changed world part ii

  • money smart homeowners use this mortgage strategy every time

  • moving averages basics and how they help forex traders

  • my most recent experiences about e currency exchange trading

  • new business real life dollars buy in game currency

  • new forex trading system gives average traders the edge

  • new opportunities with forex trading

  • online forex

  • online forex trading

  • online shopping the joy of online shopping

  • on the soundness of our banks

  • open source erp for smes

  • option arbitrage in the forex market

  • pivot points in forex mapping your time frame

  • poor mans access to foreign currency trading

  • real life dollars buy virtual game money

  • return on investment guidelines

  • rotator

  • secrets to potentially making money in the forex markets

  • sending signals for trading in forex

  • short introduction to elliot waves as a resource in forex trading

  • should you use a private wealth management broker

  • some reasons why you should trade forex and two important forex concepts you must know

  • start making serious money in the forex market this year

  • staying out of trouble with ebays listing policies

  • stocks or foreign exchange which one

  • stock markets of the world

  • there are real live people behind currency trading

  • the 6 advantages forex trading has over other investments

  • the basics of forex

  • the benefits of trading the forex market

  • the best time to day trade the forex market

  • the china bubble

  • the day trade forex system how to choose an online forex brokerage firm

  • the duty of a forex market maker

  • the forex market explained

  • the forex trading system

  • the history of forex trading

  • the importance of developing your own forex trading system

  • the key to protecting your money

  • the meaning of forex price charts and how to use them

  • the miracle of forex

  • the money jar trap

  • the new world currency

  • the opportunity in exporting

  • the seven most traded currencies in forex

  • the top four forex brokers

  • the uses in forex trading of moving averages and macd

  • three important forex concepts for new traders

  • three reasons to start derivatives trading

  • three reasons why forex trading is great

  • top 10 scams

  • to be or not to be a psychological currency trader

  • trading analysis the big mac

  • trading currency through online forex brokers

  • trading forex to advance your financial position

  • trading profitably on the foreign exchange market

  • trends and profitable trading in the forex markets

  • trying forex trading with the best strategy and approach

  • two great advantages of forex trading

  • two great forex indicators bollinger bands and fibonacci retracements

  • two reasons why many people participate in forex trading

  • welcome to the world of forex trading

  • whats fibonacci forex trading

  • whats the 382 fibonacci ratio in forex trading

  • whats the difference of trading mini lots vs full sized lots in forex

  • whats the fuzz about e currency trading

  • what is a forex broker

  • what is a forex market maker

  • what is forex

  • what is forex trading

  • what is rollover interest in the forex market

  • when is the best time to take your company public

  • wheres the money

  • where to get forex training

  • why demo fx account performance is often better than real account performance

  • why is it more profitable for an indian to take up work at home business

  • will a falling dollar derail your plans for retirement

  • word of mouth marketing examples part three

  • work from home with e currency

  • yes you can start trading forex for free

  • your guide to learning a forex trading system

  • your guide to successful forex trading

  • your mother could make money in forex trading