Pushing into the virtual-goods space, Visa has acquired Playspan, which powers e-commerce for hundreds of online games and virtual worlds, for $190 million. The move will give Visa a bigger piece of
the digital goods market, which will grow from $1.6 billion in 2010 to $2.1 billion in 2011, according to the Inside Virtual Goods report. Playspan's platform enables developers to offer in-app
purchasing on Facebook and other sites using 85 global payment methods in 180 countries.
--Mark Walsh
