Social networks need to find a way to make money fast. Online advertising never really worked well on social networks in the first place, and with online advertising feeling the same pressure as everything else in the economy, new sources of revenue must be found. Internationally-oriented social network hi5 is turning to virtual gifts, which can be bought with virtual coins that members buy with real money. Members can buy virtual gifts for about a dollar each and send them through hi5 to their friends (both real and virtual).

True to its international reach, hi5 is taking a multi-culti approach to virtual gifts. They include a Mexican Rosca cake, a dreidel, and a steamed pork bun. Don’t ask me what culture values rocks or finds cats in cups to be tasty (see below). Each virtual gift costs 80 coins, or about $1.

Hi5 is claiming to be the “first major social network to launch its own virtual currency.” But Facebook has been selling