Chinese prisoners used in gold farming racket

dotarray writes: When most people think of Chinese labour camps, they’ll typically conjure images of breaking rocks, working in the mines, carving toothpicks and doing dull, physical tasks. That’s only half the story, with new evidence coming to light that prisoners are given very different work to do at night – something many of us do for fun.

Inmates at the Jixi labour camp were forced to play World of Warcraft after dark. Gold and other in-game rewards were handed over to prison guards, who traded the virtual goods for real money. Unsurprisingly, this online operation is rapidly becoming a virtual goldmine, even more lucrative than the physical labour expected of the prisoners.