Village is a “multiplayer online real-time strategy game for the PC that
immerses the player into the role of an entrepreneur building companies
to bring prosperity to the villages of the third world.” Though they don’t have a demo of the game available yet, they are planning on getting an alpha version out in January. The goal of the game is to promote awareness of social enterprise (eradicating poverty through profits) and to get more people involved in third world development.

It seems to be a mash-up of SimCity, Second Life and the Peace Corps:

Fly over a remote village watching people walking about, farmers tending to their crops, people buying and selling goods in the town markets. Browse anybody in the village and see what income, jobs, education they have. View the stores in the town center to find out what is selling well, and what’s missing entirely. Set up your own store fronts to offer microcredit, kickstart pumps, solar cell rentals, all the self-sustaining businesses that will have the greatest impact on the villagers. Watch as farms flourish, villagers build new homes, and schools grow larger with more healthy children.

Ultimately, there may be tie-ins to reality, with companies that sell products used by nonprofit aid organizations sponsoring the game, nonprofits soliciting donations, and the possibility of applying what is learned to real villages. I don’t know if the business model will take off, given that there’s not a lot of extra money floating around in this sector, but it could be a place for Second Lifers to escape the first-world commercialism that’s invading their virtual space.

via CharityBlog