Entropia Universe gamers may now exchange their virtual world currency with real world cash using Versatel-compatible ATMs, according to Entropia developer MindArk. The cards are available exclusively through MindArk and bridge a player's in-game PED ("Project Entropia Dollars") with their real bank account. The rate of exchange (10 PEDs to $1 USD), according to MindArk, is fixed.

With an increase in real-money trading taking place via online games, it's only a matter of time before governments around the world start treating the acquisition of virtual currency as real income for taxation purposes. As Julian Dibbell has discovered, the provision exists in U.S. tax law to treat virtual commodity exchanges as barter transactions, it's just that nobody in the government seems to understand this new type of commerce. I find it hard to imagine that an exploding gray-market economy will be ignored by authorities for much longer.