For FarmVille Players, A Crop From A Real Organic Farm

NEW YORK TIMES — Operating a successful farm is a notion that is thriving in the virtual world. Some 20 million people check into FarmVille daily to plow pretend fields or buy, plant and harvest crops on online farms. Now Zynga Game Network, the social network game’s creator, is linking FarmVille’s vast pool of players to retailers as diverse as 7-Eleven stores and the organic food company Cascadian Farm. Users -- who play for fun, camaraderie and friendly competition -- reach FarmVille through a Facebook account. They can play free, but they can also spend real money to buy virtual goods, like a faster-growing crop or gifts to entice online friends to become neighbors, who are needed to expand their farms...