Video Game Lets Players Earn Real Dollars

"We already have hundreds if not thousands of players who work in 'Entropia Universe,'" he said. "We have expert tailors and miners, guys that invest in land -- they all make a living doing this."

Big Bucks for Virtual Property

"Entropia" made headlines in December 2004 when a 22-year-old Australian player bought an island in the game for $26,500. At the time, the sale set a world record for the largest virtual dollar amount spent, certified by the Guinness Book of Records.

Less than a year later, in October 2005, Jon "NEVERDIE" Jacobs snatched the record for himself with the purchase of an Asteroid Space Resort for $100,000.

Welter Timkrans says that large amounts of money are changing hands constantly in "Entropia Universe" and that the sales of virtual pieces of land make up a significant amount of that.

"The funny thing was that on Friday [April 28, 2006], we just had three small land areas for sale that were significantly smaller than the island," he said. "They went for $21,000, $20,000, $13,000 each."

All together, MindArk says the "Entropia Universe" turnover was an estimated $165 million, which is greater than the gross domestic product of some small countries.

A World With No Work

With online games like "World of Warcraft" -- which has 6 million participants worldwide -- it makes some wonder whether one day a job in the virtual world may be more lucrative -- and more fun -- than a job in the real world.

It only confirms, though, what Welter Timkrans says MindArk has always known.

"Since the beginning we knew that economically, we'd eventually have to work in the same way a bank does," said Welter Timkrans about the company's evolution. "People put in their money, and the bank itself invests the money back into the real-world economy."

He says that as technology continues to make our lives easier and as there is less need for us to be part of the manual labor force, entertainment and the ability to work from any location will be an increasingly important part of our lives.