Teens Earn Real Cash in Virtual World

In a virtual world, you could be interacting with anyone. That night elf is a night-shift nurse. The girl with the pink hair and iridescent butterfly wings is a mid-level corporate exec. That boy flying by with the floppy brown hair and seriously customized kicks? He may be a high school student who's figured out there are much better ways to earn summer cash than flipping burgers and busing tables.

"Single-player games offer safe, controlled environments, but a virtual world like Second Life adds, ironically, realism. If a young person wants to experiment with running a business, they're not just engaging in thought experiments and case studies; they're actually working with real people and real money," says Joey Seiler, editor of VirtualWorldNews.com, an industry news source that's part of Virtual Worlds Management, a company that provides trade events, media, research and online services.

According to Virtual Worlds Management, more than 100 youth-oriented virtual worlds are either now live or in development, including offerings from MTV and Disney (DIS). Research firm eMarketer estimates that 24% of the 34.3 million users ages three to 18 used virtual worlds at least monthly in 2007 -- and that will jump to 53% by 2011.

Although some MMORPGs -- massively multi-player online role-playing games -- like World of Warcraft forbid selling in-world items and characters for cash, a few like Entropia and Second Life provide entrepreneurial opportunities for enterprising teens.

"Often, the amounts to be made are limited and the start-up costs are relatively minimal," Seiler says. "In other words, you get the low cost and ease of setup of a lemonade stand, but you're competing and selling to a lot more people than just your neighbors."