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Story URL: http://www.silicon.com/financialservices/0,3800010322,39158659,00.htm

Gamers get cash card for virtual money
Will paying off dwarves replace trips to the bank?

By Dan Ilett

Published: Thursday 04 May 2006

Gaming company MindArk has launched a cash card for gamers to withdraw money they earn in the virtual world from ATMs.

Dave Birch, director for Consult Hyperion, a company that works on electronic payments, told silicon.com: "What's interesting is these virtual economies are getting so big they are bound to start impinging on the real world.

"I suspect certain demographics, who, because they have not seen a cheque in their lives, if they owe you £20, they will get their dwarf to deliver it to your elf."

People who play the online game Entropia Universe can earn and spend real money in the virtual world. The launch of the card means gamers can now access virtual Project Entropia dollars and withdraw them as 'real' cash at certain Versatel cash machines.

Birch added: "There is a blurring between this world and the virtual one. There's a whole load of legal issues around property rights, the legal validity of these trades. Things such as buying stuff that doesn't exist from people who don't own it."

The heart of Entropia Universe lies in a distant planet named Calypso. Members can create their own identity and then choose a lifestyle for their character.

In 2005, the turnover for Entropia Universe, which has 400,000 registered accounts, was an estimated $165m.