Virtual goods are growing to become a massive economy in itself. Several companies including Facebook, SecondLife and game developers like Zynga are banking on the power of virtual goods to make money from their products. According to a recent study conducted by PlaySpan, 13% of online consumers have purchased a virtual good and close to 48% of these purchases have come off social networking websites.
Here are the top sites from where virtual goods were purchased
Free web based game : 37%
Non-gaming social network site : 31%
Free multi-player computer game : 29%
Game on social network site : 29%
Connected game console marketplace : 21%
Paid subscription multiplayer computer game : 18%
Online virtual world : 11%
Others : 6%