[extropy-chat] NEWS: Virtual cash exchange goes live

[J Corbally]

An item that appears to have made the small news, but may be a small step 
to bigger news in the future;

>Virtual cash exchange goes live

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3368633.stm

>Online games now have their own foreign exchange that lets players buy and 
>sell different virtual currencies just like in the real world.
>The Gaming Open Market allows players who control characters in games such 
>as Star Wars Galaxies, The Sims Online and Ultima, to buy and sell the 
>currencies used in the different game worlds.
>Players can convert cash reserves in one game into a different currency in 
>another world or sell their virtual money for US dollars.
>The market now has 29 characters in six different games that act as 
>virtual bank managers in the separate worlds.


The website is http://www.gamingopenmarket.com/

I was thinking; given a monetary system, would it be possible to implement 
a form of Robin Hanson's Terrorism Futures concept into this?  Instead of 
Al Qaeda attacks and such, players would put their money on which 
player/guild will be the next to suffer a surprise attack for example.  If 
it was workable, it could potentially be proof-of-concept without the 
emotional outbursts that doomed the original.

Now, if it becomes possible to turn virtual money into *realworld* money on 
an ongoing basis....(outside of Ebay).

Or should that be "when".


James...