<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
are	O
non-physical	O
objects	O
and	O
money	O
purchased	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
online	B-Architecture
communities	I-Architecture
or	O
online	B-Application
games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
are	O
intangible	O
by	O
definition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Including	O
digital	B-Application
gifts	I-Application
and	O
digital	O
clothing	O
for	O
avatars	B-Application
,	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
may	O
be	O
classified	O
as	O
services	O
instead	O
of	O
goods	O
and	O
are	O
usually	O
sold	O
by	O
companies	O
that	O
operate	O
social	O
networking	O
services	O
,	O
community	B-Architecture
sites	I-Architecture
,	O
or	O
online	B-Application
games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sales	O
of	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
are	O
sometimes	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
microtransactions	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
games	O
that	O
use	O
this	O
model	O
are	O
usually	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
freemium	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	O
money	O
(	O
or	O
in-game	B-Application
currency	I-Application
)	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
purchase	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
within	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
online	B-Architecture
communities	I-Architecture
,	O
which	O
include	O
social	O
networking	O
websites	O
,	O
virtual	B-Application
worlds	I-Application
and	O
online	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
key	O
revenue	O
driver	O
within	O
social	O
media	O
,	O
virtual	O
currencies	O
are	O
specific	O
within	O
each	O
game	O
and	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
purchase	O
in-game	B-Application
goods	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Characters	O
or	O
avatars	B-Application
in	O
virtual	B-Application
worlds	I-Application
own	O
things	O
within	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
the	O
virtual	B-Application
world	I-Application
and	O
users	O
will	O
collect	O
each	O
games	O
 '	O
virtual	O
currency	O
to	O
purchase	O
land	O
,	O
supplies	O
and	O
various	O
items	O
used	O
to	O
enhance	O
their	O
status	O
and	O
add	O
points	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
virtual	O
currencies	O
are	O
time-based	O
,	O
relying	O
upon	O
measurement	O
of	O
in-game	B-Application
achievements	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
accrue	O
exchangeable	O
points	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
to	O
be	O
sold	O
were	O
items	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
MUDs	B-Application
,	O
early	O
,	O
graphical	O
online	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
on	O
the	O
PLATO	B-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
and	O
text-only	O
games	O
on	O
other	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
practice	O
continued	O
with	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
MMORPGs	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
would	O
sell	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
,	O
such	O
as	O
swords	O
,	O
coins	O
,	O
potions	O
,	O
and	O
avatars	B-Application
,	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
in	O
the	O
informal	O
sector	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
this	O
practice	O
is	O
forbidden	O
in	O
most	O
blockbuster	O
online	B-Application
games	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
,	O
many	O
online	B-Application
games	I-Application
now	O
derive	O
revenue	O
from	O
the	O
sale	O
of	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Iron	O
Realms	O
Entertainment	O
began	O
auctioning	O
items	O
to	O
players	O
of	O
its	O
MUD	B-Application
,	O
Achaea	B-Application
,	I-Application
Dreams	I-Application
of	I-Application
Divine	I-Application
Lands	I-Application
,	O
in	O
1997	O
,	O
it	O
became	O
the	O
first	O
company	O
to	O
profit	O
from	O
the	O
sale	O
of	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
it	O
was	O
n't	O
until	O
the	O
mid-2000s	O
,	O
with	O
companies	O
like	O
Korean	O
Cyworld	O
leading	O
the	O
way	O
,	O
that	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
good	I-General_Concept
sales	O
became	O
instituted	O
as	O
a	O
legitimate	O
revenue-making	O
scheme	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
may	O
continue	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
primarily	O
Asian	O
phenomenon	O
,	O
as	O
between	O
2007	O
–	O
2010	O
70%	O
of	O
worldwide	O
sales	O
were	O
made	O
in	O
this	O
region	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2009	O
,	O
games	O
played	O
on	O
social	O
networks	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
games	O
that	O
primarily	O
derive	O
revenue	O
from	O
the	O
sale	O
of	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
,	O
brought	O
in	O
US$1	O
billion	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
is	O
expected	O
to	O
increase	O
to	O
1.6	O
billion	O
in	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Worldwide	O
,	O
US	O
$7.3	O
billion	O
was	O
made	O
from	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
that	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
,	O
a	O
virtual	O
space	O
station	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
Entropia	B-Application
Universe	I-Application
sold	O
for	O
$	O
330,000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
popular	O
,	O
free-to-play	O
video	O
game	O
Fortnite	B-Application
:	I-Application
Battle	I-Application
Royale	I-Application
generated	O
more	O
than	O
$1	O
billion	O
in	O
revenue	O
across	O
all	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
revenue	O
comes	O
entirely	O
from	O
in-game	B-Application
purchases	O
,	O
which	O
—	O
in	O
Fortnites	O
case	O
—	O
offer	O
no	O
competitive	O
advantage	O
to	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
online	B-Application
games	I-Application
,	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
could	O
be	O
lost	O
due	O
to	O
some	O
unexpected	O
reasons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
may	O
include	O
access	O
control	O
,	O
hashing	B-Error_Name
,	O
encryption	O
,	O
digital	O
certificates	O
,	O
and	O
fingerprinting	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
many	O
companies	O
have	O
embraced	O
exchanging	O
cash	O
for	O
virtual	B-General_Concept
goods	I-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
practice	O
is	O
forbidden	O
in	O
most	O
blockbuster	O
games	O
,	O
which	O
derive	O
income	O
from	O
subscription	O
fees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
does	O
n't	O
deter	O
all	O
players	O
from	O
saving	O
playing	O
time	O
by	O
illicitly	O
buying	O
in-game	B-Application
currency	I-Application
with	O
real-world	O
cash	O
from	O
an	O
alternate	O
source	O
–	O
violating	O
their	O
agreement	O
with	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
operator	O
in	O
the	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
