"Virtual Gifts" Could Be Pretty Big for Christmas 2007

Before you strike out in anger against someone who sends you a gift through your e-mail attachment instead of handing you a nice gift-wrapped box, consider the value of this "virtual gift" for a moment. If you love Facebook, for example, you might love a ten dollar screen-enhancement for your main screen, or if you're a huge fan of "Second Life", maybe you'd like a total new twenty dollar makeover for your avatar.

Facebook says its users have purchased more than 24 million of their very popular icons which sell for just a few dollars.They are also sold in limited editions to generate more interest. These icons can include virtual shoes, clothes and even houses for your own Facebook creations. In the incredibly popular virtual game "Second Life", gift certificates at virtual "malls" in the game are given out every year by fellow "Second Lifer's" who know how happy their friends will be when they can purchase a new virtual car or swimming pool that their avatars can now play around in.

The cost of a virtual gift is not much, but it still will cost you some of your hard-earned Xmas cash. A pair of virtual boots, for instance, might cost $2 or $3 in a world where one could pay $20 or $30 for an intricately designed "skin," which could be described as an avatar's outer layer. The ease of giving a virtual gift figures heavily in the popularity of these new-found gift items for sure.

ONLINE GREETINGS AND VIRUTAL GREETING CARDS ARE NOW A THING OF THE PAST

Instead of getting just a congratulatory greeting from a co-worker these days, the really cool way to brighten someone's day is by purchasing them a gift for their avatar in Utherverse and Stardoll, or other virtual gaming worlds.A lot of people believe that the low-cost of buying a friend something for their avatar for a buck will just lead to the ultimate raising of the price of virtual gifts to something more along the lines of $5- $10 in the near future.

But that will not stop most people from purchasing these virtual goodies for themselves or others. The more virtual items in your online personal spaces, the more social status you have overall.

Other people compare the idea of purchasing virutal gifts for their friends to downloading software or tunes on i-Tunes and giving them out in a very expedient fashion. This will be a new way of shopping around for gifts without having to go to the local mall and wade through tons of mall traffic while you try to pick out just one card for your parents or friend.

Technology has a way of creeping up on all of us, and virtual gifts will arrive on your PC before you ever realize it.

Resources:
CNN; Reality-Check or Rip Off?
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/12/04/virtual.gifts.ap/