The Electric Sheep Company has announced a fantastic contest for those Second Life gamers with an entrepreneurial streak. In seeking a creative business idea to monetize the time spent in the game, the company has offered 350,000 Linden dollars (roughly $1,290 USD) and exclusive use of an island for six months to the capitalist pigdog who can present a business plan for the virtual world. The guidelines make it clear that the award is an investment in the winner's idea, and any type of Second Life business is suitable for submission.

There are already thousands of small businesses operating within the confines of the game, and the amount of money changing hands is staggering. Business Week, Wired, and Popular Science have all recently been digging into the science behind the economy, and PopSci's numbers estimate the GDP of the Second Life economy at over $64 million.

While it is true that there are many people making six figure salaries off of Second Life the popular claims that have measured the entire economy in USD are exaggerated. It is impossible to cash out every single Linden dollar, but the balance of new members constantly joining keeps the economy at an almost perfect equilibrium. The exchange rate to USD never fluctuates too far from the accepted norm, and many people depend on the game for their sole income. The stable economy makes a perfect environment for the inventive merchant... now get out there and push some pixels.