There’s been some mixed reporting on this news today. Apparently, in a move that is likely to be as effective as their attempt to curb copyright infringement, China has moved to ban gold farming in virtual worlds. For those of you who don’t know, gold farming is the trading of virtual currency for real currency (the ban does not include trading real currency to purchase virtual goods). The article I read cites that several billion yuan (1 billion yuan = 146 million US dollars) was traded last year. Apparently, 80-85% of gold farmers originate from China, and generates “jobs” for hundreds of thousands of people.