social games

What if the burden of managing your personal finances could be turned into a game? And what if, in the course of playing that game, saving or paying down your debts gave you the chance to win a lottery-sized chunk of change?

Online bargain hunters who also enjoy interactive gaming are in for a treat: Outbid.com, which launched last week, brings together the social interactivity of Twitter, the intensity of an auction house and the vibe of a sports bar.

Yes, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 posted a new sales record last week. But Activision Blizzard just can't keep a hold on fickle gamers. Guitar Hero hit a high note, then went silent, and now World of Warcraft is losing population fast.

Google is on a shopping spree. In the last month alone, the search giant has snapped up SocialDeck, Angstro, and Slide -- all to help it take on rival Facebook.

Google views Web games as a key part of its strategy to take on Facebook. Instead of confronting its rival head on, Google is assembling building blocks -- such as email, music and games -- now and hoping to connect them later.

Can Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg create the first truly dominant global social network? It's a big ambition, but it's looking less implausible all the time. Previously, social networks were strong in one region primarily or in several, but never globally. Friendster couldn't catch on in Europe or...