Half a million gold farmers mooted
News - 400K in China alone
The BBC have been delving into the murky world of online gaming, discovering that the lucrative gold-farming business now employs an incredible 500,000 people across the globe.
The practice of gold farming sees mock MMO players using the game world to literally farm in-game currency, which is then sold on to 'real' players looking to get ahead in the game.
The new report says the gold farming industry is worth 500 million dollars, but game makers are often concerned that these practices can unbalance the game experience and skew the in-game economy.
"When you get people with more money than time and time than money the two will find a way to meet," offered Steven Davis, chief of Secure Play.
400,000 of the world's gold farmers are said to be based in China.
© 2012 Ferrago Ltd