(* Source: Nick Wingfield *) 

Sounds like eBay all over again, only this time... all the goods are virtual and with the estimates and predictions that 80% of the online population will gave a virtual self by the year 2010, I guess this is the new limitless legal marketplace that all gamers were looking for. Welcome eBay2.0.  

A start-up plans to help game companies get a grip on the booming illicit market for virtual goods, including everything from currencies to magical swords that help players advance in online games.

Live Gamer Inc. is developing an online marketplace where players of Internet games will be able to safely trade in virtual goods, a business that is often plagued by fraud. In the biggest departure from current methods of trading in virtual goods, Live Gamer says it will only allow trading of items with the blessing of game publishers. Live Gamer is working with Sony Corp.'s Sony Online Entertainment division, Funcom GmbH, Ping0 Interactive Ltd. and other online-game operators to integrate its trading system with their titles.

Live Gamer, based in New York, is attempting to tap into the thriving economies that have emerged around online games, often without the consent of publishers. Within fantasy games like Vivendi SA's "World of Warcraft" and Sony's "Everquest II," players can achieve status and advancement for their in-game characters by acquiring powerful weapons, armor and game currency. But many people prefer to purchase those virtual assets with real money instead of putting in the long hours of game playing required to earn them.

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