Virtual eco providing over a lakh jobs in India, China: study

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Apr 8 (PTI) Fast growing virtual online
currencies and digital work worth USD 3 billion is providing
real income opportunities to people in developing countries
with more than 100,000 people in countries like China and
India earning a living through online games and websites
disseminating micro-tasks, a World Bank study says.
The study -'Knowledge Map of the Virtual Economy' by
World Bank Group's 'info' Dev program found that jobs in the
virtual economy include micro-tasks like categorising products
in online shops, moderating content posted to social media
sites or even playing online games on behalf of wealthier
players who are too busy to tend to their characters
themselves.
Funded by Britain's Department for International
Development, the study estimates that the market for such
gaming-for-hire services was worth USD 3 billion in 2009, and
it suggests that with suitable mobile technologies even the
least-developed countries could benefit from this emerging
virtual economy.
"Developing countries' roles in the digital world have
been mostly limited to users and consumers, not producers. But
on Friday, a growing mesh of digital services is giving rise
to a new layer of entrepreneurial opportunities with very low
entry barriers," said Valerie D'Costa, program manager of
'info' Dev.
Tim Kelly, 'info'Dev's Lead ICT Policy Specialist,
said, some of the poorest people in the world are already
connected to digital networks through their mobile phones.
"The study shows that there are real earning
opportunities in the virtual economy that will become
accessible as mobile technology develops. This could
significantly boost local economies and support further
development of digital infrastructure in regions such as
Africa and southeast Asia," Kelly said.
According to the 'info'Dev study, certain business
ventures and services offered may actually detract from the
experience of other internet users.
For example, harvesting and selling online gaming
currencies or mass clicking 'Like' on corporate Facebook pages
can create an unfair environment where legitimate game play
and user opinion loses value and is represented inaccurately.