Danville, VA - FarmVille is an online game with millions of followers worldwide. The basic principle is to build a farm, and tend to it. It's run through Facebook, and it's become an addictive sensation.

In a way, if you're going to be addicted to a game, this one might not be so bad because it's a free, family-friendly game and it's also very educational.

People of all ages are playing it and in doing so, they're getting a taste of just what it takes, to maintain America's heartland.

"I'm collecting the wool for my sheep. Most of the time I usually have all this stuff done," FarmVille player Debra Smith said.

Ok, so Smith isn't actually shearing a sheep, but she considers herself a dedicated farmer, admittedly, a virtual one.

"I'm harvesting my grapefruit trees, and my apple tree needs to be harvested."

Smith is part of a growing trend. Millions of people worldwide are logging online for hours to farm on a Facebook game.

Stuart Sutphin, Horticulture Extension Agent in Danville said, "It gets a lot of people to operate an actual farm from their own home. They get to raise crops and sell crops. They have to plant and let them grow."

And though it may be a virtual farm, those who play say they feel real responsibility.

"The more you take care of it and harvest your stuff and sell it like at a market, you make more money, so that means more money to  buy more things for your farm," Smith said.

"I worry about it. My animals and my crops, I don't want them to go bad," FarmVille player Patricia White said.

Many admit to playing two to five hours a day. Experts say this craze isn't all that surprising. Farmers have felt ties to their land for years so why not virtual land?

"Everybody wants to connect to the land in some way," Sutphin said.

"It's a stress reliever. And also it's the fantasy of owning your own farm. It's just a nice place to be sometimes," White said.

Admittedly, FarmVille farmers never experience true disasters like floods that wipe out an entire year's harvest. And the game doesn't require the sweat that a day in the field does, but FarmVille does have millions, coming back, to life on the farm.

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