Hmmm… One of those stories you don’t know whether to believe or not. The NYT is solemnly reporting that affluent online gamers who lack the time and patience to work their way up to the higher levels of gamedom are willing to pay young Chinese to play the early rounds for them. Excerpt:

Every day, in 12-hour shifts, they “play” computer games by killing onscreen monsters and winning battles, harvesting artificial gold coins and other virtual goods as rewards that, as it turns out, can be transformed into real cash…

“For 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, my colleagues and I are killing monsters,” said a 23-year-old gamer who works here in this makeshift factory and goes by the online code name Wandering. “I make about $250 a month, which is pretty good compared with the other jobs I’ve had. And I can play games all day.”