Crime doesn’t pay in real life, but in Zynga’s Facebook games it does. With Mafia Wars, Zynga had a hit game and earned lots of money, while Facebook users became virtual mafia big shots. Now, they’ll get to do it all over again in Mafia Wars 2, a new and improved sequel to the original game that will have 3D graphics instead of just relying on text menus to help people accomplish criminal objectives.

And, aside from the 3D graphics, that’s pretty much all we know right now…

Zynga’s hit crime simulation Mafia Wars has begun a new tie-in with an upcoming movie release. Zynga is teaming up with Sony to promote The Green Hornet.

Playing Mafia Wars between now and the January 14, 2011, release date of The Green Hornet gives you the chance to unlock seven items he uses in his battle against crime…

Zynga’s Mafia Wars takes you to exotic locales including Bangkok and London, asking you to run your own criminal empire. The company’s official Mafia Wars blog notes no mob based game would be complete without a trip to Italy. The old country, after all, is where the mafia legend began.

Mafia Wars, a game about showdowns between crime families, is now the subject of a real legal showdown.

Digital Chocolate, the social gaming company headed by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, is saying it created the name Mafia Wars. Venture Beat reports on the conflict, which is sure to get mob battle ugly.

Mafia Wars has opened Las Vegas to all you high rollers and now has unveiled a special slate of Vegas-themed items to celebrate.

The battle for control over the Internet continues as TechCrunch reports Google has invested more than $100 million in Zynga, creators of Farmville and Mafia Wars.

Soccer fans who happen to be playing Mafia Wars, this mission is for you.

If you log into the game this week you’ll see a teaser for a mission sending players to South Africa to fix the *ahem* Global Cup.

Any similarities to any real world soccer events are purely coincidental, kind of. You will have three weeks to fix the big game, with a new mission chapter available each week. Of course, those mission chapters will have exclusive South African rewards.

Just when the thought of a movie based on Joust was a mind-boggling idea, we hear about this.

The Mafia Wars movie has supposedly been picked up by Radar Pictures…

Ring-a-ding-ding, baby! Mafia Wars is coming to Sin City soon with a Las Vegas expansion. To get all us Facebook mobsters prepared, there are seven special Vegas-themed loot drops in play now. They include the High Roller, a 46 attack, 23 defense truck and the Stage Show Tiger.Stage animals!? Wait until PETA hears about this.

It’s time to make like some thugs in a Guy Ritchie flick as Zynga’s Facebook hit Mafia Wars heads across the pond to London. You’ll be tasked with stealing a crown jewel among other bits of skullduggery. You will need 30 people in your mafia, or you can let your money talk and use 20 reward points. In Mafia Wars, you are a globetrotting gangster who can open “businesses” in locales such as New York, Cuba and Moscow.