Predictions Exchange game tests ability to forsee tech trends

Reckon you've got your finger on the pulse of technology and innovation? You can now test your predictions against the world market using PopSci's Predictions Exchange - a free share trading game where you can make virtual profits by betting on the outcome of the Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD war, or whether Google will overtake Yahoo in its number of hits by the end of the year. It's an addictive game and a fascinating insight into consumer confidence in a range of brands and technologies - and if you can pick the "stocks" that are about to swing one way or the other, there's big (virtual) profits to be made!

PopSci.com has kicked off a fascinating free service that tests users' ability to predict the future in contentious tech markets. You start with $250,000 in virtual cash, and do your best to increase your portfolio by predicting which way the market will move on such questions as "will the iPhone be hacked within 2 months of release?" or "will the PS3 become the top selling game unit by the end of 2009?"

The PopSci Predictions Exchange is not only an amusing and addictive share trading game; with thousands of users all trying to predict public sentiment on a range of new technologies and market trends, it's also a fascinating look at consumer confidence in a range of different brands, and it shows what areas people are confident of breathroughs in.

The software for the predictions market is provided and administered by the market gurus behind the Hollywood Stock Exchange, one of the most advanced predictions-market engines on the Web.

It's a fascinating idea that should be of great interest to a lot of science, innovation, tech and gadget fans. For your free account, visit the PopSci Predictions Exchange and get trading.