• Forbes.com, Friday, October 10, 2008 12:01 PM

Stock market plunge got you down? Wondering whether you'll have a job tomorrow? Losing your home? Why not go where nobody knows your name--any of the dozens of virtual worlds where there is no Dow, no subprime mortgages and no Lehman Brothers (well, some things are the same in every world).

Companies such as Gaia Interactive and Habbo that run interactive worlds are expecting a boost as the real world gets just a little too depressing for some to deal with. Such worlds also offer virtual goods that can be purchased for almost nothing, as opposed to the real world counterparts that fewer and fewer American can afford.

The outlook is bolstered by the fact that such worlds aren't as dependent on advertising as they are on users buying such virtual goods. Indeed, 85% of Habbo's revenue is derived from virtual goods transactions. The site's 2.5 million U.S. users spend an average of $18 a month, and the average time spent on the site has doubled to 40 minutes per session in the past year, says Executive Vice President Teemu Huuhtanen.

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