Neopets looked like the most innocent corner of the 1999 internet, a virtual pet site launched by two British university students from an office in Guildford, England. By Christmas 1999 it was serving 600,000 page views a day, and by January 2000 an American businessman and a group of investors had bought a majority stake and installed a management system based on the Church of Scientology's org board, something the founders did not recognize for six months. This episode follows how the founders kept religious material off the site while the company trademarked immersive advertising, turning sponsored flash games for brands like General Mills, Disney, and McDonald's into the core of its business.

From there we cover the in-game stock market and the gambling controversy that led to age gates, the 2005 sale to Viacom for $160 million, the 200 ...