The BBC will be showcasing the game at the Cannes International Television Festival in France this week, where it could be set to become one of the BBC's biggest TV exports.
The sale of Celebdaq could swell the £660m the BBC's commercial arm makes from programme sales and other activities. To date, BBC Worldwide's biggest hits have been 'Teletubbies' and 'The Weakest Link', which have both done well Stateside.
The Celebdaq name is taken from the US Nasdaq exchange and players play online with regular updates on BBC Three, as well as a weekly half-hour show presented live by former BBC business reporter Patrick O'Connell.
The 'Celebdaq' TV show combines entertainment, business and news with the real-time share trading in some of the world's best-known celebrities. The most successful weekly Celebdaq trader wins a weekly £100 cash prize and a coveted Celebdaq trading jacket.
Celebdaq has already proved controversial after a footballer involved in a sex scandal, whose name is protected by legal proceedings, was named on the website's message boards. The BBC quickly removed the message, but the posting was widely seen.
The website was launched in July 2002 and now has more than 250,000 players. Each celebrity has a web page of their own, with facts, latest news, recent sightings and current trading price. Daily trading prices are currently announced each evening following BBC Three's 'Liquid News' show.
Celebrities' prices rise and fall depending on market forces and dividends are paid on those who generate the most column inches in national newspapers and magazines.
Like any real stock market, Celebdaq has also suffered financial scandal when shares in Liam Gallagher's ex-wife Patsy Kensit were artificially inflated or "ramped".
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