Entropia
Entropia Universe is an online virtual universe designed by Swedish software company MindArk.
It advertises a "'Real Cash Economy' (RCE)", in which Entropia Universe currency
(PED - Project Entropia Dollars) can be redeemed back into real world funds at a fixed
exchange rate with the US dollar, where 10 PED = $1 USD.
Unlike more typical computer role-playing games, Entropia Universe involves no
"levels" of advancement, while winning and losing involve real money,
and not some abstract state of a "game". MindArk have, in fact, specifically refused
to call their product an MMORPG, or even a game at all, preferring to position it purely
as a "Virtual Universe". However, the experience does share elements with other MMORPGs,
such as skills and special items, and a science-fiction setting.
The Entropia online community claims to have over 550 000 registered participants from over 220 countries,
with the average number of players online at any one time said to be around 600 (as of August 2005).
The community has produced several real world marriages as well as creating a multitude of cross-border
friendships.
The Entropia Universe claims to have entered the Guinness World Book of Records in
2004 for the most expensive virtual item ever sold.
This means that virtual items acquired inside Entropia Universe have a real cash value,
and a participant may, at any time, withdraw their accumulated PEDs back into real world
currencies according to the fixed exchange rate.