网络"种菜族"需警惕广告陷阱

　　"It's very moreish," says Curran. She hasn't yet paid real-world money to advance in the game, but her friends do. One buys extra virtual currency at the exchange rate of $240 (145) in FarmVille for $40 (24) in the real world。

　　“真是让人欲罢不能，”柯伦说。她还没有为了游戏晋级花过钱，但她的朋友却花过。用现实世界的40美元(折合24英镑)可以购买FarmVille中 240美元(折合145英镑)的虚拟货币。

　　"I'd expanded on FarmVille as much as I could, but I just wanted a pond and some hedges," says the woman, who is too embarrassed to be named. "I didn't tell my husband I'd paid real money because he'd think I'm mad. But then he did keep me waiting in the car outside our house while he harvested his raspberries."

　　“我极力在FarmVille上扩大我的农场，但我就是想要一个池塘和一些树篱，”这位羞于透露姓名的妇女说。“我没有告诉我丈夫我支付了真钱，因为他会以为我疯了。但当时他让我在屋外的车里等着，而自己却在收获树莓。”

　　Brian Dudley, chief executive at Broadway Lodge, an addiction treatment centre, warns that this sort of obsessive play can lead to an addiction as severe as gambling。

　　百老汇洛奇上瘾治疗中心总裁赖恩·达德利警告说，这种令人着魔的游戏会导致上瘾，其严重程度与赌博无异。

　　"Games like this draw people into a fantasy world that's separate from real life where there are no issues, and where things are simple and controllable," he says。

　　他说：“这种游戏把人吸引到一个与现实生活分离的幻想世界，那里不存在争端，一切都简单和可以操控。”

　　Indeed, FarmVille addicts have already faced their first big scandal. On the site, players can take advantage of special offers on ads that promise more virtual cash and points for taking free trials or entering competitions。

　　的确，FarmVille成瘾者已经遭遇首桩重大丑闻。该网站在广告中提供了让玩家得益的特别赠品，它给出的承诺是，玩家只要免费试用或参与竞赛，就可以获得更多的虚拟现金和点数。

　　Last month, however, TechCrunch, a US website, revealed the scams behind these freebies: the product come-ons often click through to trial services or quizzes that ask for credit card details or mobile phone numbers. Small print warns that their accounts will be debited for months to come。

　　但是上个月，美国一家网站TechCrunch揭露了这些免费品背后的骗局：点击充满诱惑力的产品广告，常常链接到需要询问信用卡详情或手机号码的试用服务或小测试。小号字附加条款则警告，账款会在几个月后记入其帐户的借方。

　　"I clicked on an ad that offered a free IQ test in exchange for points in the game, took the test and punched in my mobile number so they could text me the result," says one victim, Momar Jahihti. "When I checked my statement, they were surreptitiously billing me $30 [18] per month."

　　“我点击了一则提供免费智商测试的广告，来换取游戏点数。我完成了测试，输入了我的手机号码，以便他们可以将结果用短信发给我，”一名受害者莫马尔·杰希提说。“当我查看我的结算单时，发现他们居然偷偷摸摸地给我开了每月30美元(18英镑)的账单。”