October 11, 2006

Teen Puts Sibling Through College Via Gaming

Link: Gaming | News.blog | CNET News.com.

Back when I was in high school, I saved money by making sandwiches at my family's deli after school. Times have changed. Now, families are funding college educations through virtual worlds on the Internet. Entropia Universe, a creation of Swedish company MindArk, has nearly 500,000 users only three years after launching.

Mike Everest, a home-schooled high school senior from Durango, Colo., has put two of his siblings through college by selling virtual goods for real dollars on Entropia. And he's not the only one involved. His mother also plays the game. Along with his mother, Everest, better-known within the virtual game as Ogulak Da Basher on the planet Calypso, has raked in more than $35,000. Of that profit, $12,000 will be used to help his two siblings attend college.

Posted by Anupam Chander on October 11, 2006 at 05:00 AM in Digitization | Permalink