While Twitter's founders are struggling to figure out exactly how to cash in on their creation, others may have found a way.

Lolplaying, a gaming company, seems to have found a new way to make some cash with their new role-playing game called 140Mafia (a reference to how many characters you use to tweet). The company is trying to harness Twitter's ability to make money by teaming with Super Rewards, which is a "virtual currency" service that makes a great deal of cash from various forms of online recreation.

This post is part of a featured report on stocks in the Chinese online gaming sector.

"One lesson we learned long ago is that it often pays to recognize stocks showing unusual strength -- one such stock is NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES)," says Mike Cintolo in The Cabot Market Letter.

"In terms of stocks, NetEase is showing unusual strength. The stock started moving ahead in a powerful manner as soon as (actually a bit before) the market bottomed in March.

"In fact, NTES recently notched nine straight up weeks, all on above-average volume, breaking out of a three-year base in the process!

This post is part of a featured report on stocks in the Chinese online gaming sector.

"Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD) is a leading online game developer and operator in China; is our latest 'stock of the month' feature," says Dennis Slothower in his Stealth Stocks newsletter.

"The company primarily develops three-dimensional, or 3D, online games based on its proprietary Angelica 3D game engine and game development platform.

"Its strong technology and creative game design capabilities, combined with its extensive local knowledge and experience, enables the company to frequently and rapidly introduce popular games designed to cater to changing customer preferences and market trends in China.

This post is part of a featured report on stocks in the Chinese online gaming sector.

"When it comes to numbers, Giant Interactive (NYSE: GA) is the kind of company that accountants can only dream about; with a profit margin above 70% and huge cash reserves, the stock is selling well below book value," says China expert Jim Trippon.

In his The China Stock Digest he explains, "Giant was founded in November 2004 and as become one of the fastest-growing and most profitable companies in the Chinese online game industry."

"Despite constantly rising earnings as more and more Chinese log on to the Internet, Giant Interactive is reasonably valued with a P/E multiple of 12.5.

This post is part of a featured report on stocks in the Chinese online gaming sector.

"We're increasing our bet on Asia through Shanghai-based Chinese gaming company, Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: SNDA)," says international stock expert Nick Vardy in The Global Bull Market Alert.

"I expect this small-cap stock to be a solid, risk-return trade, especially if you are willing to endure some volatility.

"First, Shanda operates online games in the People's Republic of China and is a pioneer in the hugely complex role-playing games that people play over the Internet.

One month ago, we featured a special report featuring the favorite China-based stocks among financial newsletter advisors. Since then, the 14 stocks covered in the report have risen an average of more than 15%.

The performance of these stocks -- along with the overall China market -- has far exceeded the 3% gain in the S&P 500 index over the same time period. That report can be viewed here.

Despite these gains, many of the leading advisors remain bullish on China; in particular, several have recently focused on the online gaming sector in Asia. Indeed, Timothy Lutts notes that while the video game market in the U.S. is slowing, the video game market in China is expected to show 20%+ annual growth in coming year.

This week, I've been working on a list of penny stocks to buy. Given that any recovery is likely to be led by the small-cap space, I'm looking closely at the smallest of the small to drive my portfolio higher.

Not for the faint of heart, these so-called penny stocks can generate some really fat returns. I'm not talking about just doubling your money here. Stories abound of returns of 300% or much more on stocks that started out trading for less than $5 per share.

One of the stocks on my list is in the poker space, and to give you a bit of a preview, I want to visit one other player in the space that was worthy of consideration, but did not make the final list.

CryptoLogic (NASDAQ: CRYP) is a leading provider of software for the Internet gaming space for non-U.S. players. It is that last piece about non-U.S. players that has me quite excited about the stock.

The company has benefited from the explosion of online poker playing, but stagnated due to tough enforcement of rules and regulations against U.S. players. It is illegal to gamble online, and that is a huge problem for companies like CRYP.

My take on this stock is that regulations will change for a few reasons. At the top of the list is a new administration that claims to bring a non-lobby-based form of governing to Washington.

That means the Vegas lobby is out of luck when it comes to online gaming. Every other modern country allows it, why not ours?

Another big plus is the taxable revenue that would come from legalizing online gaming. Given the economy and massive debt loads, one would think this would make sense.

I think the space makes for a reasonable speculation, and CRYP looks like a strong play in my opinion.

With shares at $2 and change, off a 52-week high of $21.97, there is plenty of fuel here.

Of course, there is risk, but that's what penny stocks are all about.

I am merely suggesting that there is a legitimate trigger here for some serious upside. Sometimes that's all it takes for a penny stock like CRYP to take off.

And if you're interested in penny stocks, be sure to check out my Top 5 Penny Stocks to Buy Now.

Jamie Dlugosch is a contributor to InvestorPlace.com.

The mantra of the 00s is convergence, and Sony Corp ADR (NYSE:SNE) is teaming with BT Group (NYSE:BT) in one of the most useful convergences yet. The companies announced plans, confirming a report by our sister blog JoyStiq last September, that Sony will add cell phone capability to their Playstation Portable.

In partnership with British telephone giant BT Group, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced a four-year deal to develop and market the hardware and service. The product will initially be offered in the U.K. BT's broadband network Openzone will also be part of the deal, which would allow Sony to add online gaming to the Playstation Portable.

This is another step toward what I call the Holy Ark of Mobility -- a mashup of cell phone, gaming platform, iPod, video viewer, web browser, camera, video recorder, e-book reader, television remote, garage door opener, car lock remote, and thermometer. With this device and my long-wished for concierge monkey, my life would be perfect.

"There are still many years of spectacular growth ahead for China, which should culminate with the Olympics," notes Charles Payne, editor of the top-tier Wall Street Strategies newsletter. Payne is also well known from his weekly appearances on FOX TV's Bulls & Bears and FOX and Friends.

And while he cautions, "You definitely want to be out of that market when the trumpet begins playing the Olympic theme," he currently highlights select opportunities, such as his latest recommendation, NetEase.com (NASDAQ: NTES).

The company -- headquartered in Beijin -- was founded in 1997. Payne notes, "Netease operates an interactive online and wireless community in China, providing Chinese language content and services through its online games, wireless value-added services, and Internet portals."

The firm's online games business, he notes, focuses on massively multiplayer online role-playing games. In order to participate in these online games, users purchase prepaid point cards which he notes are are sold in China through wholesalers, Internet cafes, software stores, supermarkets, bookstores, newspaper stands, and convenience stores.

As part of a port securities bill passed by the House and Senate recently, online gaming in the US would be outlawed for foreign-based companies that offer online betting transactions in American currency. Though the comapnies are generally based in the Caribbean or Central America, they derive the bulk of their revenues from US gamblers. If this legialation is signed into law by President Bush, US gamblers will not longer be able to transfer money to foreign-based gaming companies using credit cards, checks, or electronic fund transfers. I guess gamblers could mail big wads of cash to their off-shore bookies. The legislation is designed to make it harder for terrorist organizations to move money around under the guise of legitimate businesses. Also, domestic gambling operations, such as those in the Gulf Coast region, would have fewer competitors for consumer access to real money poker.

PartyGaming, the world's largest online gambling company, indicated it would cease business operations in the US if this legislation is enacted, as would 888 Holdings PLC and Sportingbet PLC. Shares in PartyGaming have already plummeted by over half, closing recently at 84 cents. 888 Holdings in down by 26% and Sportingbet is the big loser, declining by 65% to close at $1.24.

The legislation seems also to prohibit many forms of sports-related gambling, including wagering on the games leading up to the World Series, as well as the monumental betting pools for the Super Bowl in early 2007.