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I always get a laugh when WoW goes mainstream. But I do find the economic, psychological, and sociological aspects of MMORPGs fascinating.
I do have one word of caution, beyond the talk of sweatshops versus employment and damage to in-game economies: there is a seedy(seedier?) underbelly to gold farming. Many of these budding capitalists are more aptly described as "gold hunters", as they rely on phishing scams to hack users' accounts and steal all their gold ... only to sell it back to someone who was likely defrauded the week before.
