Following the ban on gambling in Second Life, Duncan Riley of Techcrunch decided to see if you could make money in SL by investing in one of the Stock Exchanges, he picked the WSE, probably because it was the biggest and most known. I would’ve liked to see him try his hand at all of them, but, any lights that get shined on some of the possible money scams in Second Life is good enough for me. He mentions the world of share trading is regarded by some s even worse than gambling, but doesn’t mention whether this is a real life or Second Life conclusion.

The World Stock Exchange (WSE) sits on its own Second Life island in a shiny multi-story edifice that just says money.

The trading floor on the third floor presents an initial lobby that includes an ATM machine (players must deposit money to trade stocks), rule boards and advertising for a bank that offers 15.75% PA. Walking through the lobby players are presented with a lounge area and customer service desks. There is usually a WSE representative on hand to assist with inquiries.

Can You Make Money Though?

There is only one way to find out. After perusing the 30 odd listed companies I made a number of investments which I may revisit at TechCrunch in the future to report on how they went.

For my opening portfolio I bought companies that sounded like they had substance. Hope Capital Limited (HCL) sounded hopeful, and as this is the holding company for the WSE you’d expect good results. Hype String (HYP) may not make string, but hype always rises, right? I expect Spontaneous Rich Investments, Inc. (SRI) to perform well. Ginko Perpetual Bonds (GPB) are all that remains of the funds from the collapsed Ginko Bank. After trading as high as L$26, today’s price of around $L0.19 makes them a steal. For good measure I rounded out my portfolio with the two IPO’s scheduled for August 20, Taft Worsley Enterprise (TWE) and Apez Corp (APZ). I have no idea what either do, but given the history of IPO’s in such markets, I’m confident of a strong performance. More in a week or so, unless of course I’ve made so much money that I’ve retired. Source: Betting On Second Life Stock Exchanges

He even created a video of his visit to the WSE. At least a bunch of armed guards didn’t show up this time to keep the peace. I bet the GPB at L$0.19 a bond will still loose him money, any takers?

Word Stock Exchange

Posted to Technology Videos by eubeenhadd on August 20, 2007

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