Facebook defies the recession by selling virtual guitars

Just read an interesting Business Week article today on Facebook's strategy in the current doom & gloom economy. While the article details why Facebook keeps persuading a "spend now make profit later" strategy it also reveals a interesting take on Facebook's planned revenue streams :

Facebook hopes to make money in three ways.
- Online advertising is far and away the most important, accounting for an estimated $200 million to $225 million in revenues this year.
- The company is also selling digital goods—electronic versions of guitars, flowers, and the like that Facebook friends give each other. Charging $1 apiece for these goods will generate $30 million to $40 million this year, estimates venture capitalist Jeremy Liew.
- The third leg of Facebook's business may be the most controversial. The company is seriously considering a plan to take a cut of money from the software developers who create applications for the site.

Original article "Facebook's Land Grab in the Face of a Downturn", here.