Being an Economics Librarian, I suppose it's natural that I'm getting more and more interested in the economics of gaming. I'm reading a new book by economist, Edward Catronova who explores "massively multiplayer online role-playing games". Castronova explores the idea that "synthetic worlds" encourage/produce ordinary human affairs. The author states: "There is much more than gaming going on there: conflict, governance, trade, love." Although I'm only part way through, I'm looking forward to the chapter called "Economics of fun".

Castronova, E. (2005). Synthetic worlds: The business and culture of online games. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.