Gem of an idea?

At the end of 2006 (can you tell I'm still catching up?) EA put their stamp on Pogo Games - a casual game service for PC players, also accessible through AOL - by offering an intermediate currency called "Gems." The Gems sell for about 0.06 USD and can be exchanged for the opportunity to earn special badges or upgrades for the player's Pogo Mini avatar. Gems can be bought in bulk from %5 to $20 and virtual items are said to cost between $0.50 and $2.00 each.
Badges are the status symbol in Pogo. One of the interesting attributes of online gaming is that players from a wide range of social and economic statuses enter the game with an equal opportunity to achieve and earn in-game wealth. With the Pogo Gem system some players can now outspend others to get more badges - giving an advantage to players with a higher real-world economic status. At least the big spenders still have to play the game well enough or long enough to earn the necessary points to be awarded the badge. There doesn't seem to be any mechanism for players to transfer gems, so don't go running to ebay to look for a bargain...or an investment. And yes, we do need stinkin' badges!