Oct 1, 2006 12:00 PM

For Every Problem, a Cut-Rate Solution

Everybody knows you can get hi-def TVs manufactured or customer calls answered in underdeveloped areas of the world like Bangalore or South Carolina. But some of the jobs being outsourced these days are just plain bizarre – even disturbing. They range from reproductive services to schemes that might shave a few seconds off a Big […]

Everybody knows you can get hi-def TVs manufactured or customer calls answered in underdeveloped areas of the world like Bangalore or South Carolina. But some of the jobs being outsourced these days are just plain bizarre – even disturbing. They range from reproductive services to schemes that might shave a few seconds off a Big Mac order. For every problem, it seems, there's a cut-rate, third world solution.

WOMBS
Outsourcer: Infertile wannabe moms
Outsourcee: Young women in India rent their uteri to incubate the test-tube-bred fetuses of couples from the US, Britain, and Singapore. It costs as little as $3,500 – one-tenth of the US price – and in India, unlike parts of the US and Europe, fertility for hire is unregulated.

TUTORS
Outsourcer: Pushy, busy parents
Outsourcee: No time to help junior with his trigonometry homework (not that you can even remember what a cosine is)? English-speaking Indians and Latin Americans with college degrees are available 24/7 to fill in by phone or IM.

DRIVE-THRU
Outsourcer: McDonald's
Outsourcee: If you think that person on the drive-thru intercom sounds a bit distant, you don't know the half of it. At select Mickey Dee's in the US, the person taking your order is actually in a call center in California or North Dakota, using the magic of VoIP. But who do you blame if they forget the McNuggets?

PRAYERS
Outsourcer: Catholic Church
Outsourcee: Churchgoers can request (usually with a little something extra in the collection plate) a special mass to, say, help a sick friend. But what if there's too much demand? An email to India gets the prayer rolling: A priest there collects the donation and says the mass in a local language.

GAMES
Outsourcer: Lazy gamers
Outsourcee: In dozens of computer-crammed rooms from Romania to China, thousands of people play World of Warcraft and Lineage for 12 hours a day – not for fun but to build up avatars and characters ordered by Americans who can't be bothered to slog through the games' tedious lower levels.

– Vince Beiser

credit:Headcase Design
Jobs being outsourced these days range from reproductive services to schemes that might shave a few seconds off a Big Mac order.