With more and more online games creeping into China, it seems that the country is welcoming it with the way the number of online game players are increasing.

In a "Netguide 2008" survey, results showed that China will have more than 59 million online gamers in 2008. The survey was conducted with websites, enterprises and personal interviews. More information on the survey in the full article.

While the leading companies in China's online game industry remain strong, analysts believe the market's concentration rate will drop as new developers push for their own products. For more details, check out the full article.

Shanda Entertainment and its subsidiary Aurora Technology have announced that they are now banning male gamers playing as female characters from their MMORPG King of the World. Shanda is currently China's biggest online gaming enterprise.

In contrast, female players playing as male characters will be allowed to go on playing. All of this is designed to work using webcam verification solutions.

No explanation was given as to why this move was initiated, but it could be due to rampant posing as ladies and scamming for items or game currency as the case is with most other MMORPGs.

This then begs the question: Isn't it strange that you won't be allowed to choose your gender in a game genre whose essence is to allow people to escape into a world where they can be someone else?

And won't the webcam verification be easily bypassed? If it's done as a one-time thing during registration, your mom or sister can pose for you. If it's an always-on sort of thing, maybe you can go shave and buy a wig. Just tell everyone your dad has very dominant genes or something. What do you think?

Here's something for you MMORPG players out there. This month, an online gamer won a lawsuit worth thousands of dollars against Chinese game operator Shanda. The lawsuit revolved around devalued virtual game equipment and a damaged reputation.

Here's what happened: According to the report, a player of the MMORPG Legend of MIR II earlier this year logged into the game simultaneously from two accounts on the same IP address in order to transfer equipment from his account and another player's.

This prompted the owner of the second account to complain to Shanda, saying that his account had been looted by the first guy. Shanda then proceeded to suspend the account of the the guy accused of virtual theft.

It didn't end there (if it did then we wouldn't have a story at all). The player whose account had been suspended sued Shanda in Hengyang County, and according to the report the lawsuit included "requiring Shanda to unblock his account, and pay compensation of RMB 45,000 (US$ 5,625) for the depreciation of his game equipment during the suspension period, the damage to his character's reputation in the game, and his travel expenses."

The court evaluated the player's equipment through 5173.com and found his claim to have merit. He was awarded compensation of over RMB 30,000 (US$3,750). This decision was handed down on November 15. Shanda has made no comments on the case, and the company has four days left to make an appeal.

China's top game developer, Shanda Interactive Entertainment is will be bringing the Wonderful World of Disney to the Chinese gaming market, which is expected to quadruple in the next four years.

Gaming revenues in China reached nearly $69 million USD last year, and is expected to top $210 million by 2010. This deal will be helpful both to Shanda and Disney, Inc., as it will place the former in a stronger position in the highly competitive MMORPG industry, and allow the latter to enter the potentially lucrative Chinese market.

According to Shanda, a  puzzle, digital chess, and card games with Disney's characters will be available in China next spring.

"Disney's rich content library, combined with Shanda's capabilities as a leading online game operator, will bring a new, unique and fun experience for the online game consumer," says Mark Handler, executive vice president and managing director of Walt Disney Internet Group.

Chen Tianqiao, chairman and CEO of Shanda, adds, "Disney's wholesome content will further broaden our user demographic."

This deal is one step Disney is taking toward expanding its presence in China. It is also negotiating with the Shanghai government to build a theme park, similar to the one opened in Hong Kong recently.