Just how effective are virtual goods in mobile games? Earlier this month, itsmy.com, a mobile social network, reported new metrics from a survey it had taken to promote the new games of its parent company, Gofresh GmbH.

The company surveyed 1,500 European and North American mobile social gamers. The results?

• 48 percent of respondents had purchased virtual goods in the past.
• A smaller number of them (12 percent) spent money regularly.
• The majority of these users were female, many of whom admitted to playing several times a day.
• Only 11% of users were looking for a well known brand or title

It’s common knowledge now that there are no franchises from traditional publishers in the leaderboards on Facebook or MySpace – we’ll see if that’s the case in a year. More than 60 percent of survey participants currently play the games they choose simply because the story or visual style is attractive.