'Happy farmer' plans to sue Facebook

The netizen, surnamed Hsu, spent a total of NT$2,000 in seven days on a game on the Facebook Web site named "Happy Farm," and accused the company of luring consumers into spending more money on the game, said the report.

The game is a virtual farm run by players growing vegetables and raising livestock by themselves. Players have to spend all day taking care of the farm and prevent other players from stealing products.

Playing Happy Farm itself is free. However, Facebook users can pay through credit card, cash, Paypal or cell phone to buy virtual currency for extra functions in the game. But such functions raised disputes with customers, including double charging on credit cards. In some cases, customers didn't receive virtual currency after paying.

The netizen originally bought the cash loadable cards and added NT$300 value on it. Later, he bought four guard dogs from the Web site to protect his farm from other players, said the report.

However, his crops were still stolen by other players and he was asked by the Web site to spend more money to feed the dogs.

Hsu earlier made claims for compensation from the cash cards company, Gamania Digital Entertainment (GDE). But the company said that they are commissioned by Facebook. They only help to sell the loadable cards and on-line currency for the games, and check for customers' adding value. The spokesperson of GDE said that they will show customers' dealing records to the police to resolve on-line consumer disputes.

Hsu has not received any response from Facebook and he plans to sue the company.

Facebook is a free social networking Web site and the game was developed by Hong Kong 6 Wave and recently has become widely popular in Taiwan.

Users on the Web sites can make new friends, send messages, play games and take informal psychological tests.

"I think what is special about the game is that it provides a good platform for office staff to kill time and relieve pressure," a Facebook user, surnamed Chen, told The China Post. "It's convenient and simple to play and we don't have to download anything".

"Besides, the game is a good way to maintain relationships with friends and you can invite them to play the game together," said Chen.

The Consumer Protection Commission in Taipei said that they will clarify the responsibility of GDE and Facebook and gave warning to the netizens to be more cautious about online consumption.

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