Much as meteorologists predict the path and intensity of hurricanes, Indiana University's Alessandro Vespignani believes we will one day predict with unprecedented foresight, specificity and scale such things as the economic and social effects of billions of new Internet users in China and India, or the exact location and number of airline flights to cancel around the world in order to halt the spread of a pandemic.

Entropia, an online computer games is taking an ambitious step to meld their in-game economy with the real global financial system by allowing players to withdraw virtual funds into real-world currency using an ATM.

The New York Times reports that well over 100,000 Chinese are working as 'gold farmers' -- playing online role playing games and selling the virtual currency, items, and experience they generate for real world money.

A man has been arrested in Japan on suspicion carrying out a virtual mugging spree by using software "bots" to beat up and rob characters in the online computer game Lineage II. The stolen virtual possessions were then exchanged for real cash.

1UP explores the growing underworld of gaming sweatshops where low-wage workers are paid to collect virtual gold and items in popular online games for resale.

An interview with the developers of the online game, Second Life, on the booming trade in virtual property.

An overview of some of the legal and philosophical issues faced by the growing online gaming industry as people start taking their virtual property holdings more seriously.

A look at the virtual economy that has evolved around the mega-popular Korean Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), Lineage, and the efforts of regulators and designers to control the inflation and organized crime that followed.

The author analyzes the economic impact of virtual economies and finds that it is greater than several developing countries including Nambia.

Investors and entrepreneurs are buying and selling virtual real-estate properties in popular online reality games.