Published on : Fri, 11 Nov 2005 07:04GMT
by : Andy Clarke

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN - Project Entropia, the rapidly growing online game with a massive following today said that a 23-year-old gamer known by the screen name of Deathifier who had invested £13,700 in an island has recouped his entire investment in just under a year's time.

The virtual Treasure Island that Deathifier brought exists only in the computer and is not a real destination. However, the trend of selling virtual areas to gamers for development as they see fit is fast catching on. Of course it means that real cash needs to be spent, but gamers do not mind paying for something that they see as a smart investment. Project Entropia followed up the success of the Treasure Island sale to put up a virtual Space Resort for sale. This Resort was brought by a man who goes by the screen name, Neverdie for $100,000.

Marco Behrmann, MindArk Director of Community Relations said that the two sales emphasized that the online property trading was here to stay, "The participants see this extension of the virtual universe as a natural next step in an online community. This is an enormous validation that Project Entropia is leading the way in future online entertainment and business," he said.

Deathifier said that he made money by selling his virtual land to build homes as well as taxing other gamers who came to his island to hunt of mine. "The money made to date is only a taste of what can be achieved with my virtual island purchase," said Deathifier. "There is still more room for growth and revenue with the untapped resources surrounding the land."

These confident statements are the main reason why many people are rushing to MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online role playing gaming). The game allows gamers to exchange PED (Project Entropia Dollars) for real cash and vice versa. 10PED equals to $1 in real cash. The game has 300,000 registered participants and was launched in 2003.