However, new research from Manchester University has revealed that in many developing countries of the world, the likes of World of Warcraft can be highly profitable.

Virtual farming

Nearly half a million people are earning virtual goods to sell for profit to other players. The practice, known as gold-farming is largely based in China and according to the study, is growing rapidly.

Around 400,000 people are completing quests and fighting monsters in the popular online game, World of Warcraft. They are rewarded with better weapons and equipment which they can then turn into real world profit.

Some gold farmers allow buyers to purchase the character itself. Known as “power leveling” players have control of a player with much higher stats than they could create by playing themselves.

Professor Heeks one of the authors of the report said that the size of gold-farming was comparable to India's outsourcing industry.

"The Indian software employment figure probably crossed the 400,000 mark in 2004 and is now closer to 900,000. Nonetheless, the two are still comparable in employment size, yet not at all in terms of profile,” said Prof Heeks.

Games companies have attempted to crack down on this practice, which on average roughly generates £80 per month for gold farmers.

The authors of the report described this group as “playbourers” but consigned that an industry which connects cash rich, time-poor players with those willing to work long hours for little reward will continue to grow.

Inevitable evil?

Francesco D'Orazio, founder of MYRL, the social gateway to virtual worlds, and a speaker at this year's Virtual Worlds Forum Europe believes that any attempts by games companies to crack down on the activity will be futile. Instead he recommends that creators of virtual worlds accept gold-farming as inevitable and put in place measures to integrate more fairly into the worlds.

"I think gold farming is not an issue in itself. It's the policy of virtual worlds providers towards it that's turning goldfarming into a problem for gamers and for them too,” said D'Orazio .

“Goldfarming is a natural social and economical activity generated by the match between who has more money than time, and who has more time than money. This is something that's going to happen anyway, whether they try to stop it or not, in one shape or another. And I don't see anything evil with it from a moral point of view, nor is it bad for the ingame economies, on the contrary it stimulates economic growth. However, it's true that it can be quite destructive of the game dynamics.

“It could be regulated by more complex and sophisticated governance rules, defining limits and maybe coding a distinction between wealth produced in world and wealth acquired through goldfarming. Maybe inter-world regulations could be an option, considering that most of the companies that operate in the field are cross-world or operate on web platforms that are cross-world.”