Cal State Fullerton economist Edward Castronova has discovered that Norrath is the 77th richest country in the world, with an economy slightly larger than Bulgaria's. No, don't bother checking your atlas: Norrath doesn't exist. But its economy is real. Confused? Norrath is the "virtual" setting of Sony's on-line game Everquest-- or, as devotees and detractors have dubbed it because of its addictive nature, EverCrack.
The game takes place in a fully realized Tolkien-style fictional world. This world has its own currency, which players are supposed to acquire ...