[ieatpaste]

This works well in Asian markets due to emerging markets and Asian culture. While it is more understated in Western culture, Asian culture is all about progress, and monetary progress is reflected by conspicuous consumption. Therefore, virtual gifts/goods is a display of that same progress. Furthermore, Asians are educated through a largely abstract approach, which allows them to understand the worth of virtual items without tangible interaction. From a Web 2.0 perspective, Asian web clones have made more money than its Western counterparts due to virtual gifts.

Personally, I don't think monetization through virtual goods is going to work for Western markets unless its a very specified niche market which relies on virtual goods already (i.e. gaming). There isn't enough social/cultural value in virtual goods that justifies the price (even if it is just a few dollars).

[mustpax]

I'm not saying you're wrong, but can you provide some supporting material when making such broad generalizations about cultures? Are there any sociological studies that back up these findings? Are you talking about any particular region of Asia where this might be particularly true?

Asia is home to a great diversity of cultures and languages, a little more discretion would be appropriate when talking about it in such definite terms.