Virtual crime  Virtual crime or in-game crime refers to a virtual criminal act that takes place in a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), usually an MMORPG. The huge time and effort invested into such games can lead online "crime" to spill over into real world crime, and even blur the distinctions between the two. Some countries have introduced special police investigation units to cover such "virtual crimes". South Korea is one such country and looked into 22,000 cases in the first six months of 2003. Several interpretations of the term "virtual crime" exist. Some legal scholars opt for a definition based on a report written by freelance journalist Julian Dibbell on what was the first prominent case, "a rape in cyberspace." One such scholar defined virtual crime as needing to have all the qualities of a real crime, and so was not a new subset of crime at all. Conversely, it has also been said that the connection between virtual crimes and real crimes are "tenuous at best: It is the link between a brutal rape and a fictional story of a brutal rape. Surely the difference is more striking than any similarity." It is difficult to prove that there are real-life implications of virtual crime, so it is not widely accepted as prosecutable. To rectify this, the modern interpretation of the term "virtual" must be amended such that it carries the traditional implication; "that is such in essence or effect, though not recognised as such in name or according to strict definition." In this sense, it "would include those crimes that somehow evoke and approach the effect and essence of real crime, but are not considered crimes." Over time, players build their characters and collect in-game items. Some such items may have been obtained through months of gameplay, involving various tasks and a substantial level of effort. According to standard conceptions of economic value, the goods and services of virtual economies do have a demonstrable value. Since players of these games are willing to substitute real economic resources of time and money (monthly fees) in exchange for these resources, by definition they have demonstrated utility to the user. Stemming from their value in the virtual economy, these items, and the characters themselves, have gained monetary value in the real world. eBay, along with specialist trading sites, have allowed players to sell their wares. This has attracted fraudulent sales as well as theft. Many game developers, such as Blizzard Entertainment (responsible for "World of Warcraft") oppose and even prohibit the practice. Some argue that to allow in-game items to have monetary values makes these games, essentially, gambling venues.