Buddy Media, a NY-based startup with investments from Howard Lindzon, Peter Thiel, Mark Pincus and James Altucher, hopes to make money by building a business around Acebucks, a virtual currency for the Facebook platform.  Acebucks, developed independently by Aryeh Goldsmith, but acquired by Buddy Media, can be used to purchase real or virtual items at its own Facebucks store.  Buddy Media founder Michael Lazerow (Golf.com, U-Wire) writes on the company’s blog that they’re looking to build an ecosystem around Acebucks, as it will soon open an API, allowing other Facebook apps to use the virtual currency.  Lazerow writes that more than 100,000 Facebook users have opened Acebucks accounts; according to Facebook, though, it currently has 1,780 active users.

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Update: Michael Lazerow told paidContent.org he recently purchased Acebucks for an undisclosed sum, while bringing on Aryeh Goldsmith as CTO.  Buddy Media then raised $1.5 million from the group of investors mentioned above; the funds will be used to build out the product and for business development.