NEW YORK TIMES — Intrigued by the willingness of millions of consumers to pay real money for things that do not exist, some large companies are testing whether they can raise awareness of their brands -- and sell more actual goods -- by creating and offering their own pretend merchandise. Volvo Cars of North America, the clothing retailer H&M and MTV Networks are among the diverse brands entering the market for virtual goods -- the make-believe items offered on social-networking games, smartphone apps or fantasy Internet sites...

E-CONSULTANCY.COM — In-game advertising is nothing new. From automotive giant Jeep advertising in Tomb Raider in 2007 (image below) to FarmVille based incentives from Bing this month. The question is; how does it work? Have companies and game providers cracked the method of getting into our psyches to get us to do what they want? With the global in-game advertising market set to hit the $1bn mark by next year (it's likely we’ve already surpassed this), this is turning into a big business. Social gaming has grown an army of enthusiasts prepared to spend valuable time and money on virtual rewards and companies are all queued up to capitalise on this...

INSIDE FACEBOOK — Group buying startups, which let consumers get deals with local businesses en masse, are finding a new route to customers beyond the e-mail newsletter and prolific online advertising campaign. They’re tapping into social games, in a marriage of two of the most lucrative revenue models to emerge off Facebook’s platform. Social gamers earn additional virtual currency by buying Groupon or LivingSocial deals while they’re playing. "Farmville’s been called the new daytime TV," said Terry Angelos, a co-founder and chief product officer of TrialPay. "Rather than spending time watching ‘Days of Our Lives,’ people are playing Farmville and seeing ads for local restaurants." Indeed, many of TrialPay’s supported titles attract women aged 35 to 50 -- a prime demographic for online shopping...

EMARKETER — Puns abound on the ability of virtual goods to generate real-world effects, but the opportunity for brand marketers is genuine and the dollars involved are growing rapidly as brands recognize the power of pixelated goodies. A study from social gaming platform Viximo and virtual goods platform Virtual Greats puts this year’s branded virtual goods revenues at $16 million worldwide. By 2015, the companies expect that number to rise to $318 million, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 83% over the period...

MYCUSTOMER.COM — A third of UK developers are now incorporating advertising into their video games, with the social gaming market alone expected to grow to $826 million in value this year. According to a report by Tiga, a trade association for games developers, although advertising in video games has not proved popular with users in the past, it is on the up as organisations look for new ways to boost revenues. As a result, almost half of those producers that do not currently support in-game advertising plan to do so in future...