“You have hackers who can get onto game servers and databases and steal items, and yet there’s no way to prosecute them,” says Castronova, who has worked with Harvard Law School about the legal ramifications of synthetic economies. “I think you have to take the rules of the game and call them law. We need the same laws we have for corporations, which are nothing tangible, either. They’re just a fictional entity representing stockholders’ interests. Certainly some games would be treated differently from other games, but in the long run the law needs to recognize these online communities as an extension of the real world.” The federal government has taken notice. Congress’ Joint Economic Committee last year launched a study of the interactions in virtual economies to determine whether
July 11-17, 2007
transactions that spill over into the real world are taxable. “Clearly, virtual economies represent an area where technology has outpaced the law,” says a statement issued by the committee upon taking up the subject in October. The committee’s finished report, scheduled for release later this month, could have global ramifications on online economics if taxation is allowed. In the meantime, there literally is no end in sight to the growth potential of an industry that, in barely 10 years, already is pushing the limits of international law and free-market economics to their breaking point. Let us know what you think: Email rona@free-times.com or editor@free-times.com
Avatars in World of WarCraft (Top) and Second Life (Bottom).
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