Real money trading is not illegal in every MMORPG. In fact, Entropia Universe is all about making money or spending money to expand your experience.

After gaining much success in its homeland, the Swedish sci-fi game will be teaming up with Cyber Recreation Development Corp. (CRD) to reach the Chinese market.

Developer MindArk plans on making a server with 7 million user capacity to attract plenty of people from one of the biggest MMORPG markets in the world. Aside from expecting expecting 10,000 job opportunities, Entropia Universe is supposedly able to save the environment. You read that right: this MMORPG will save the environment.

We won't be seeing a virtual Captain Planet or something like that, but CRD corporate chief David Liu believes that "people will actually be able to work from home inside Entropia Universe... thereby decreasing the amount of pollution generated by travel."

Get a job and help mankind by playing an online game? Good luck to our Chinese gaming friends, and we hope you become successful in your endeavors.

MindArk and Global Gaming Factory X AB have announced that Entropia Universe will be the first virtual universe and software to use the Smartlaunch Direct digital distribution platform. This will make the game easier for gamers to download at internet cafes and gaming centers around the world.

Smartlaunch Direct is being fully integrated with the Smartlaunch server and cafe administrator, displaying popular games from cafes around the world. Cafe owners can then easily download and install a game on all computers in the cafe using Smartlaunch Direct.

"This new partnership with Global Gaming Factory X AB will allow us to share the Entropia experience with new players who will have the software as an easily accessible option in their own environment," said MindArk CIO Marco Behrmann. "We look forward to a prosperous future using Smartlaunch Direct."

ATM Marketplace reports that MindArk's MMORPG, Entropia Universe, wanted to do something different for players. It wanted to let players withdraw in-game money as real-world dollars. In May of 2006, MindArk announced a planned new ATM card to make it happen.

The Entropia Universe Cash Cards were supposed to simplify the process of money withdrawal for players by allowing them to withdraw their PEDs (Project Entropia Dollars) as real-world currency at ATMs.

Jon Jacobs (known within Entropia as Neverdie), an artist/filmmaker who spent US$ 100,000 of a loan against his real-life house to buy an Entropia space station which he resold as apartments and commercial space, called the Entropia Cash Cards "the Holy Grail of massive multiplayer gaming that everyone has been looking for."

Sadly though as revolutionary as the scheme was, the ATM/cash card scheme had to end.

The plan seemed all well until January 2007, when players were informed that MasterCard would no longer support ATM traffic from the card's backing financial institution, North York Community Credit Union of Ontario, Canada. Because of this development, Entropia announced refunds to be credited to players' PED accounts.

We've heard of off-shore banks and virtual banking, but banking in a virtual world? Hmm, is that another step closer into the Matrix?

MindArk's Entropia Universe with it's Real Cash Economy is going to auction out five two-year virtual banking licenses for those who want to be the next virtual millionaire. What would it mean to set up a virtual Bank of America in Entropia? Well, the winning player will be able to conduct 27/7 banking service.

They can give out loans and collect interest, be involved with the design and naming of their virtual bank, use advertising opportunities, and draft their own bank staff.

Yet another interesting investment opportunity for Entropia players. Remember Deathifier's Treasure Island and NEVERDIE's planet resort? This new banking possibility might just take the cake for the most expensive virtual property.

Public bidding starts mid-January within the Entropia Universe.

MindArk PE AB, creators of the Entropia Universe, a virtual world featuring the use of a real cash economy, has recently announced the winners of a public auction for the three virtual mall properties within the world. Bidding lasted from December 19 into the late evening of December 29. The total winning bids amounted to $179,668.

The malls should provide instant cash revenue to their new owners as each mall includes three shopping floors, eighteen medium sized shops, eighteen large size shops, three trade centers with an auctioneer, technician, trade, society, repair terminals, etc. On the fourth floor of each mall, there is a public teleporter and a public balcony.

MindArk is obviously proud about this display of interest in their virtual world. Chief Information Officer, Marco Behrmann had this to say:

the perfect thrilling ending to MindArk's most successful year to date. The desire to own virtual real estate in Entropia Universe is growing rapidly, which the mall auctions clearly show. Big business has entered the virtual universe with tremendous force, and we see no indication of this changing.

The Entropia Universe virtual world is most famous for having set a world record, certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. Last December 2004 it sold a virtual Treasure Island for US$26,500 setting a record for the largest dollar amount spent, to 22-year-old Australian David Storey, a.k.a. "Deathifier." During October 2005, the sale of an asteroid based space resort for US$100,000 to famed gamer, Jon 'NEVERDIE' Jacobs, set a new record for the most valuable virtual item.

Given Entropia's reported success, and that lawsuits, mudslinging, and sabotage is a sure sign/symbol of success, we now wonder when Entropia will be assaulted by a horde of flying wangs.

We guess there is a cycle that applies to every single MMO title out there: The game is released initially and fans dig it. After some time, the developer implements updates that he believes is for the good of the game. The players, on the other hand, have already become accustomed to the original settings. When the changes are applied, they cry "foul." But the changes are put in place anyway and virtual life goes on.

So, we won't be surprised if fans of Entropia Universe will do the same after they've tested the newly implemented Content List Version Update 8.8 by developer MindArk. After all, residents of Planet Calypso have had a reputation and history of militancy in the past. But as we've mentioned, everything did not end there. If anything, Entropia Universe has moved on.

Among the many changes included in VU 8.8, probably the most glaring are the ones done to Skills and Professions. All avatar attributes will now start at 1 point, instead of the previous 20 points. Team Settings was also changed. Stackable Items can now be split between team members based on the damage inflicted by each member.

There are also changes related to the upcoming Holiday season. Accordingly, several shopping malls and holiday gifts have been activated and were made available all through out Entropia. Anyway, there are a lot of changes to talk about. Why don't you just click on the read link to know all about them? After that, come back here and tell us what you think.

Some of the greatest, perhaps even the wisest, minds in the universe will get a chance to be some of the coolest people in an entirely different universe. MindArk, developers of Entropia Universe will be co-hosting two parties happening simultaneously for Nobel Prize winners: a real-world party, and a completely virtual one.

The event, dubbed the Nobel NightCap, will be held at the Stockholm School of Economics on December 10, and is meant for some very distinguished dignitaries: Nobel Laureates and their guests, members of the Swedish Royal family, the Nobel Foundation, and the Swedish Academy. A virtual NightCap party will be happening concurrently, courtesy of Entropia's Club Neverdie, and will actually be projected on the walls of the real-world party.

Of course, since not everyone is a member of the Swedish Royal Family, Club Neverdie will be free for everyone to get into during the party's proceedings. While you might think of Nobel winners as some kind of intellectual stuffed-shirts, the virtual aspect of it definitely makes the whole deal seem very cool and trippy. If you're feeling up to partying with royalty and intellectuals, you can always join them in virtual body and spirit through the game.

To tell you the truth, it's been a while since we paid Entropia Universe a visit. The last time we were there, residents of Planet Calypso were threatening to stage a mass protest regarding certain updates they didn't approve of. Actually, the same thing is happening right now inside the realities of MMO Second Life due to the proliferation of an import/export tool.

Anyway, it seems that things are quite straightened out already for Entropia as developer-publisher, MindArk, just announced a contest for its residents. "We've decided to start the Entropia Universe Video Competition. This will be a long running competition based on participant created videos from the Entropia Universe," stated the company on the game's official site.

Accordingly, any active user can participate in the said competition by uploading their stuff to YouTube. Videos should begin with the title "Entropia Universe01:" then followed by the user's original title. Also, avatars should be added either in the "From" field or in the description.

MindArk will then have a look every three months at the submitted videos to find out which one has the most views. For the first round of the competition, the topic is fun. Try to go for how fun it is to be in Entropia, or residents having fun (not a mass protest), or if you have other ideas, so much the better. The first winner will be announced on March 1, 2007 and will receive a "unique item."

As of now, the game has more than 500,000 registered participants from over 220 countries. So we are expecting a wide array of fun, funny, and happy videos to come Entropia's way very soon.

With the dramatic increase of U.S. university tuition fees, it is no wonder that students are finding every way to make ends meet. A great example is a 17-year-old from Durango, Colorado who was able to accumulate over $35,000 by playing in the rapidly growing virtual world of Entropia Universe. This online virtual universe designed by Swedish software company MindArk, has a unique "Real Cash Economy" (RCE), in which Entropia Universe currency (PED or Project Entropia Dollar) can be redeemed back into real world funds through a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar, where 10 PED = $1 USD.

Mike, a.k.a Ogulak Da Basher is a captain in the Entropian hunting society "ck Coat Killers" who cultivated his mining and hunting skills, obtaining precious minerals and materials that are then sold at a premium price. He has also mastered the crafting of weapon/mining attachments. From his virtual possessions, he was able to rake in $35,000, $12,000 of which will be used to pay for his siblings' college fees.

The Entropia Universe is a direct continuation of Project Entropia, which had a 2005 turnover of 1.6 Billion PED ($160 Million USD), and has over 400 000 registered participants from over 220 countries in its online community. In 2004, the Entropia Universe entered the Guiness World Book of Record for he most expensive virtual item ever sold.

Many players are attracted to the game by the prospect of making money, by which MindArk itself has encouraged this belief by stating that the game "must offer unlimited income opportunities to the player". Marco Behrmann, CIO of MindArk stated that, "While many claim that online and console games have a negative impact on a teenager's mental and physical development, our observations are different. In Entropia we are seeing a positive outcome from our online gaming community. Members not only building social skills through global interaction, but are even learning the business tools to succeed in the real world."