The ministry of Culture and Tourism in South Korea has proposed a bill banning the sale or purchase of virtual currency in virtual worlds, with the goal of cutting back on the potential for gambling in virtual worlds. As Ross Miller points out in his post on this subject on our parent site Joystiq, enforcing this law will be a logistical nightmare. While this will cut down on gold farming in South Korea, will it really solve the problem?
More troubling is the affect this will have on virtual worlds that depend on currency to operate like Second Life. The Ars Technica article Miller references also asks if this will criminalize Second Life in South Korea, and it sure seems like the answer is yes.
1. How is this going to hurt Second Life?
How many people in SL are from South Korea?
I think you're being reactionary to a possibility.
Posted at 11:09PM on Dec 28th 2006 by Blanda Banal