Ansche Chung (left), the Avatar on the cover of the May 1st edition of Business Week just announced that she has amassed one million US dollars in virtual real estate in Second Life. (Read the press release here.)

Ansche Chung, a.k.a. Ailin Graef, began her business with a $10 investment in March of 2004, most likely for the first month of a premium membership in Secondl Life.

In the photo to the left, she’s appearing with her husband, Guntram. The photo was taken in their Wu-han, China office.

Ansche Chung Studios currently has 21 employees, primarily for customer service for their virtual real estate sales as well asset development. The photo to the right is a snapshot of the office building that houses the Wu-han office of her studios.

Clients ask, “Why are people in Second Life? What are the payoffs for them?” One answer is entrepreneurialism. You can create a “business” in Second Life without a lot of investment. While Ansche is an extreme example, there are many smaller “businesses”. Why should this sound surprising? Haven’t many people commented that running a business is like a game?