Chinese Prisoners Forced to Play WOW

It's like a digital Shawshank Redemption!

In possibly the most unusual (and cruel depending on what geek circles you associate with) punishments ever, Chinese prisoners are being forced to play World of Warcraft and other online games so that prisons can exchange credits for actual money.

According to The Guardian and former prisoner Liu Dali, inmates were forced to play 12 hour shifts with no breaks and were given quotas of around 5,000 to 6,000 rmb (around 500 dollars to non chinese) a day, and were beaten with plastic pipes if they failed to reach their quota!

Unlike most internet moneymaking endeavors (KGB text responder, fake review writer, entertainment blog writer) "gold farming" is quite a lucrative business, especially in China. In fact over 1.65 billion dollars in virtual currencies were traded in 2008 alone.

So what's the next step? Comment below and let out your inner activist/comedian.

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