I had a peek at Farmvilleat Chrissie's house the other day and it looked very addictive. Gentle and peaceful as you plant your crops and watch them grow and (hopefully) make you a profit so you can buy lovely things for your farm.
Facebookers only alas and I have not yet succumbed.
Apparently there are 56 million Farmville players. The Guardian points out that it is now big money as you can bypass all that boring 
hard grind stuff and use real money to buy your lovely new farmhouse. It was ever thus...
Farmville: a Cash Crop
Merry you can now play Farmville without the facebook application at www.farmville.com! My farm looks beautiful as I have covered it in a blanket of snow! It is very therapeutic to play but I absolutely don't use 'real' money!
Ohhhh I have been hoping for some news like that 
Thanks Chrissie, I will let you know how I get on! 
My farm with ripe lavender and pink roses
... and the Cair Paravel area