xltd.com weblog

Governments are already losing their grip on controlling populations by pandering to special interests and cow-towing to global corporations. One of the last vestiges of government supremacy appears to begin eroding. News report today that Chinese officials try to crack down as fake online currency is traded for real money. The QQ coin is an online play money created by marketers to sell such things as virtual flowers for instant-message buddies, cellphone ringtones and magical swords for online games. In March 2007, the QQ coin's real-world value has risen as much as 70%. QQ coins, which retail for one yuan (13 cents), have become populat and accepted by other internet sites for conducting small transactions. Users helped turn the QQ coins back into cash by selling them at a discount that varies based on the laws of supply and demand. That led to traders looking to profit off of currency speculation. Governments are banning the conversion of these online credits into real money. Major sites, such as eBay banned gamers from selling virtual game assets. But the genie is out of the bottle.