Black Plague and N1H1

What if the recent outbreak of the N1H1 virus had been as serious as the Black Plague that tore apart Europe in the 15th century? The Black Plague wiped out two-thirds of Europe's population at that time. If that happened today in the areas affected by N1H1, that would cover half of the world! Half of the world's population is around three billion people. Two-thirds of three billion people is two billions people. With two billion less people gone in the world, entire countries would be seemingly empty, with a few stragglers here and there.
This would obviously be a terrible catastrophe, but it would also open up a world of possibilities when the disease got cured. First, people could move to the empty countries and start life anew. A lot of workplace positions would open up, due to all of the people that died. A lot of resources would become more readily available also because a lot less gas would be consumed daily along with much less water and natural gas. However there is also a very negative side to all of the deaths. For example families would be devastated, lives would be ruined, and many businesses and shops woul have to be reestablished. All in all I would say this would be a very devastating catastrophe.