My +10 Sword of Smiting was made for me by this dude in Russia… This was too much, I had to post it:

“Multiplayer online gamers have long cut corners by paying real cash for in-game goods that would take them hours of playing to earn, while others have padded their offline budgets by selling excess game goods or even their characters when they stop playing.

But now, the reality of exchange rates and international income gaps has spawned a virtual version of the real-world relationship between rich and poor countries. While players in wealthier countries casually drop hundreds of dollars to buy their way into better positions in the games — or out of tedious parts of the games — some workers in poorer countries are playing around the clock to produce virtual goods that earn them real money.”

Read the whole Wired article here