Not only relying on the virtual economy on WeChat (i.e. mobile gaming, virtual goods), Tencent plans to creatively leverage the commercial upside of online to offline space.

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The virtual economy is thriving, and as in any thriving economy there are opportunities for enterprising people to identify new goods and services that have value to the community.

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Better technology would also give the virtual service economy a boost, in particular by making it easier to select the best bid.

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Why study and analyze the empirical data of a virtual game economy?

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In the months running up to the election in November 2008, the economy entered virtual free-fall.

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Japan has been on a similar track--periodically raising taxes to save the national pension system--which has contributed to the virtual stagnation of its economy since the late 1980s.

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Although some are charging subscription fees to players of online games or selling advertising, many of them make most of their money by managing an online economy, complete with virtual goods and a digital currency.

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While separation of duties does apply, the principle of economy of mechanism indicates that creating multiple virtual servers on a single host with software like VMware is creating a complex system.

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That moment of inspiration brought together the physical world of products and the virtual world of data, laying the foundation for a data-based, digital economy.

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