A US not-for-profit start-up called The Whuffie Bank is behind the karma-like digital currency, which rewards people for their positive contributions on the web.
The Whuffie Bank aims to let users cash in on their popularity by buying virtual goods and potentially real-life products.
The Bank monitors internet users' activity across various websites using an algorithm, and assigns Whuffies to comments, posts, and other mentions.
Anyone interested in measuring the strength of their online reputation can on Twitter, and at a later date when it launches, Facebook.
The site displays how many Whuffies a user has, along with a graph of their progress over time. The site ranks its users by Whuffies with the aim of uncovering the top users in different fields.
The algorithm takes into account public endorsements, or the number of times a users' tweets are retweeted, or a Facebook post is 'Liked'.
It also takes into account who is making the endorsement, and the content in the messages that is being posted. Users can also trade Whuffies, so for example, one users could ask another to retweet a comment, offering 100 Whuffies as payment.
At present, Rev Run, one of the founding members of 80s hip hop outfit, Run D.M.C, is ranked top by reputation. P Diddy is second, while US gossip queen Perez Hilton ranks eighth.
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