Virtual currency offer many benefits, especially on websites where the users may not have access to credit cards or other types of payments. The role of a virtual currency is to act as a substitute currency allowing customers to buy, sell, and trade items without having to use a real world currency.
In the coming weeks, I’ll talk more about virtual currency and show you how to create a virtual currency, develop an environment to encourage users to buy virtual goods and also ways to increase the popularity of virtual currency on your sites.

Finally, I’ll also look at how and where virtual currencies interact with real world monies and the best ways to address this.

Update:

‘Some virtual world developers officially sell virtual items and currency for real-world money. For example, the MMOG There has therebucks that sell for US dollars.

The currency in Second Life can be converted from Linden Dollars into US Dollars and vice versa. Rates fluctuate based on supply and demand, but over the last few years they have remained fairly stable at around 265 Linden Dollars (L$) to the US Dollar.

The currency in Entropia Universe, Project Entropia Dollars (PED), could be bought and redeemed for real-world money at a rate of 10 PED for U.S.$ 1. On December 14, 2004, an island in Project Entropia sold for U.S. $26,500 (£13,700). One gamer also purchased a virtual space station for U.S. $100,000 (£56,200) and plans to use it as a virtual nightclub.

Many Korean virtual worlds (such as Flyff) and other worlds outside that country (such as Archlord and Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands) operate entirely by selling items to players for real money. Such items generally cannot be transferred and are often used only as a means to represent a Premium subscription via a method which is easily integrated into the game engine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_currency

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