The JVWR, Volume 2, No. 4

Published: February 27, 2010

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The editorial team for this issue includes:

Mandy Salomon, Smart Services CRC, Australia Serge Soudoplatoff, ESCP-EAP / Hetic, France  

In this special issue on virtual-world goods and trade, we are pleased to present articles from a global cohort of contributors covering a wide range of issues. Some of our writers, will be well known to you as distinguished leaders in the field, but it is equally our pleasure to introduce exciting new voices. Here you will find pieces written by academics, practitioners, journalists, a documentary filmmaker and perhaps the youngest contributor to JVWR yet, who attends high school in upstate New York.

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Issue Editors’ Corner

Why Virtual-World Economies Matter

Mandy Salomon, Serge Soudoplatoff

Interactive Online Exhibits and Demonstrations

Rethinking Virtual Commodification, or The Virtual Kitchen Sink

Lori Landay

Invited Articles

On Money and Magic

Edward Castronova

Characteristics of the Virtual Economy (after ‘State of Play VI’ Conference , 2009)

Julian Dibbel

China’s New Gold Farm

Anthony Gilmore

Virtual Goods: Good for Business?

Nic Mitham

Peer Reviewed Research Papers

“We Will Always Be One Step Ahead of Them” A Case Study on the Economy of Cheating in MMORPGs

Stefano de Paoli, Aphra Kerr

An Exploration of Entrepreneurship in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games: Second Life and Entropia Universe

Stéphane Kieger

Born Virtuals and Avapreneurship: A case study of achieving successful outcomes in Peace Train – a Second Life organization

Robin Teigland

Virtual Commerce (V-Commerce) in Second Life: The Roles of Physical Presence and Brand-Self Connection

Seung-A Annie Jin, Justin Bolebruch

Research Papers

Understanding “Gold Farming” and Real-Money Trading as the Intersection of Real and Virtual Economies

Richard Heeks

World of Warcraft: The Viability of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games as Platforms for Modeling and Evaluating Perfect Competition

Eli Kosminsky

“Think Pieces”

Currencies and Capitalisms on the Internet

Minna Ruckenstein

Licensing Considerations for OpenSim-Based Virtual Worlds

Shenlei E. Winkler

Monographs

Teens and Virtual Goods: The Fun, Useful and Affordable Luxuries that are Driving the Virtual Economy

Maura Welch

Assembled (rush to press papers)

Topping from the Viewfinder: The Visual Language of Virtual BDSM Photographs in Second Life

Shaowen Bardzell