An alternative way of earning money online: gold-farming
Job description: Make virtual goods in online games to sell to players
Earnings: more than RM400 per month (average)
Size of industry: 500,000 persons, 80% in China. Already comparable in size to India’s outsourcing industry!
Global market size: estimated USD500 million, but true size could easily be twice as big!
Outlook: very bright, growing rapidly. Has become a significant economic sector in many developing nations so much so that gold-farming has been cited as an early exmple of the “virtual offshoring” likely to become more prevalent as people spend more time working and playing in cyberspace.
Mitigating factor: considered illegal by gaming companies
Source
The BBC, 22nd Aug 2008
