Prometheus 6

Not really...I'm convinced Second Life is how they got everyone into those Matrix tubes.

Players buy and sell goods and services using a virtual currency, known as Linden Dollars. An online marketplace allows users to convert the currency into real U.S. dollars, enabling users to earn real money from their activities.

Lawmaker opposes taxing online virtual economies
Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:26 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - The Republican head of a U.S. congressional committee said it would be a mistake if the Internal Revenue Service introduced regulations to tax virtual economies such as Second Life and World of Warcraft.

Rep. Jim Saxton of New Jersey, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, confirmed on Tuesday a Reuters report that the committee was studying the public policy and tax issues related to virtual economies.

"There is a concern that the IRS might step forward with regulations that start taxing transactions that occur within virtual economies. This, I believe, would be a mistake," Saxton said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Second Life is a virtual world on the Internet where some 900,000 users have signed up to create characters, buy property and interact with other players. Players spend around $350,000 a day on average, or about $130 million a year, and usage is growing in double-digit terms each month.