Jason Ainsworth, 36, plays Second Life at least four hours per day, earning $1,800 per
month after taxes. That's enough to pay the mortgage on his Las Vegas home, according to an article run
in tomorrow's New York Times.
He makes his money by owning large swaths of land and renting it out to retailers for a monthly fee. He's one of hundreds of people earning money while playing the game.
For some people, it's a job. Ailin Graef will earn $100,000 in her first year as a real-estate magnate in Second Life.
Too bad the article doesn't cover the flip side of the coin: all of those gamers who are foregoing real earnings in order to play their MMO of choice for hours on end. What's the net impact on GDP? When it's positive, that's news.
