Zwinky Vends Virtual Goods

Internet conglomerate InterActive Corp.'s children's world steps onto the microtransaction turf.

InterActive Corp., the same company that purchased a majority interest in GarageGames and launched InstantAction.com, will be introducing a paid virtual economy into its pre-teen targeted web game Zwinky. Currently over 9.5 million registered users and 4.6 million active accounts per month typically spend 64 minutes a day in the electronic land of Zwinktopia playing arcade and web games for virtual currency called "ZBucks."

In order to increase profits from this homegrown operation, users can now purchase ZBucks with PayPal or a credit card at an exchange rate of $10 for 2,000 Zbucks. These digital dollars, 500 million of which have been earned for free within the world thus far, pay for a plethora of products ranging from fake furniture to clothing. Revenue earnings will not only be driven by the sale of online items, but also the sponsorship and advertising within the game and inventory.

Source: TechCrunch