The Goods May Be Virtual, but the Profit Is Real

Silicon Valley may have discovered the perfect business: charging real money for products that do not exist.
These so-called virtual goods, like a $1 illustration of a Champagne bottle on Facebook or the $2.50 Halloween costume in the online game Sorority Life, are no more than a collection of pixels on a Web page.

But it is quickly becoming commonplace for people to spend a few...