Virtual World Entropia Universe Issues First Ever Virtual Banking Licenses for $400,000

[Mega]

Time to get some publicity done Mindark.

MMORPG.com & BBC news for a start off.

[hooters]

Very cool news. Will be interesting to see what all these people will bring to the virtual world.

[Centech]

Originally Posted by Leandro Kun

Be interested to know who Kitty Bryce is as well.

As I recall Jolana first appeareed at the time of the last big land auction when amethera was opened up to the west. Bought the Esto land, swore up and down that it wasnt a fake avatar or a reseller, and then resold the Esto land a few months later and wasn't heard of again.

Now this, as MA puts it, "veteran Entropia Universe participant" is back and buying another expensive piece of 'real estate'.

Veteran?

Participant?

Is this nice spin from MA or do we have an approved second avatar for another player?

[Bertha Bot]

Virtual World Entropia Universe Issues First Ever Virtual Banking Licenses for $400,000
MindArk Announces the Five Winners of the World's First Virtual Banking License; Real World Banks and Celebrities Among the Buyers
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN -- (MARKET WIRE) -- May 08, 2007 -- In yet another first for both the virtual world and the real world, Entropia Universe creators MindArk PE AB today announced the long-awaited results of the very first virtual banking license auction after months of active bidding. The five licenses sold for an astounding total of $404,000 to a mix of real world banks, Entropia celebrities, and entrepreneurs, all seeking to invest in the virtual realm. Up for sale since January, these two-year exclusive licenses will integrate real world banking systems into Entropia Universe.

The winners are:

-- Avatar Janus JD D'Arcwire, representing a real life bank (more
information to follow) - paid $59,060
-- Russian Internet Payment Provider MONETA.ru, by avatar Yuri iNTellect
Efremov - paid $99,900
-- Entropia celebrity and famed virtual night club owner Jon NEVERDIE
Jacobs - paid $90,000
-- Famous cross-world virtual celebrity and entrepreneur Anshe Chung -
paid $60,000
-- The avatar "Jolana Kitty Brice" (veteran Entropia Universe participant
and entrepreneur who wishes to remain anonymous at this time) - paid
$95,000

The virtual Entropia Universe banks will work similarly to real world banks. Initially, they will be provided with secure systems enabling them to lend money to participants and collect interest, design and name their own virtual bank building(s), utilize the extensive advertising opportunities available, and make their own personnel available through avatars that can interact with and provide service to other avatars. In order to get the virtual banks operational, each winner must add $100,000 as operational capital. As the only virtual universe whose currency has a fixed exchange rate with the US Dollar, Entropia Universe is providing a means for interested investors to be proactively involved with a real economy on a financial and creative front. The funds acquired in Entropia Universe can easily be withdrawn into real life cash.

With over 580,000 registered accounts, Entropia Universe had a 2006 turnover of over 360 million dollars. MindArk PE AB's Business Development Director David Simmonds enthused, "We are thrilled to welcome these five new partners to Entropia Universe. As we continue to set records in the virtual realm, the next two years will be a prosperous, successful time for all parties involved." MindArk CIO Marco Behrmann continues, "This further proves the Entropia concept of having a secure, reliable, and stable economic environment for doing business. The five banks will have integrated services within the mechanics of Entropia Universe and will not just be virtual advertising spots." More information about the virtual banking licenses is available here: http://account.entropiauniverse.com/...rich/6357.html


About the Winners

MONETA.RU is an Internet payment provider that was established in Russia in 2005. The website of the company is www.moneta.ru. The company's main goal is providing the most secure and comfortable online payments for its customers -- merchants and online shoppers -- on the Russian and CIS market. At the moment MONETA.RU is experiencing a rapid development due to being a payment gateway that aggregates all the most popular payment systems and solutions available on the Russian market and therefore providing the most powerful payment tool for merchants. Online shoppers use MONETA.RU as an e-wallet and enjoy the most complete list of available deposit and withdrawal options. All transactions are processed with the maximum speed and comfort, and are protected by the cutting-edge security system of MONETA.RU. The company's development strategy lies in orientation of partnerships with foreign companies. MONETA.RU is the first and only Russian processor of online payments which was purposely founded to assist overseas companies with entering the Russian and CIS market and sharing its enormous potential.

Bank NEVERDIE, The Gamers' Bank™, is one of the first financial institutions to exist entirely and only in Virtual Reality. Founded in Entropia Universe, Bank NEVERDIE is operated by famous gamer Jon "NEVERDIE" Jacobs, expanding upon a diverse virtual entertainment brand that includes the Club NEVERDIE asteroid space resort, shopping mall and nightclub, the NEVERDIE Mega Championship stadium, a virtual arena for sporting events and live concerts (currently under construction), Phasm Forest and Kingfisher Beach. In addition, Jon "NEVERDIE" Jacobs is involved in the "MMOWC" Massive Multiplayer Online World Championships, an annual global event to find the Best Online Gamer in the World, and the VWAwards: The Virtual World Awards, a virtual red carpet event that honors creativity across all platforms in virtual reality, and www.RealityPort.com, a web based portal into virtual reality.

Since 2004, the Anshe Chung Studios (ACS) has been the global leader in virtual real estate development on open virtual world platforms. Originally founded by Anshe Chung as an entirely virtual business in Second Life, it has evolved into a real company with more than 60 full-time employees turning over millions of dollars per year with virtual real estate, content development and virtual financial services. In 2007, ACS received high profile venture capital investment and has begun to branch out into additional virtual worlds. Besides thousands of virtual world residents and pioneers, ACS features key clients such as Fortune 100 companies, churches and governments, whose entry into virtual territory has been designed and developed by ACS.

About Entropia Universe

The heart of Entropia Universe is a distant planet named Calypso, which encompasses two continents with animal-filled wildernesses and large expanding cities that offer a variety of entertainment and social interaction for its participants. In Entropia, participants can create their own persona, or avatar, via a character generation system, and then have the option of choosing a suitable life and virtual existence for their avatar. Characters are able to enter the evolving worlds of Entropia Universe, which are full of unexplored and uncultivated lands. Participants can join a community or even create a civilization of their own. Entropia offers a new avenue for individuals to pursue dreams, fantasies, and adventures in an astoundingly 'real' virtual universe.

In December 2004, Entropia Universe set a world record, certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, when it sold a virtual Treasure Island for $26,500 USD as the largest virtual dollar amount spent, to 22-year old Australian David Storey, a.k.a. "Deathifier." In October 2005, the sale of an asteroid based space resort for $100,000 USD to famed gamer, Jon 'NEVERDIE' Jacobs, set a new record for the most valuable virtual item.

Entropia Universe is a registered trademark of MindArk PE AB. MindArk supports and monitors the services and maintenance of the Entropia Universe site. MindArk began in April of 2003 in Sweden, and has expanded to have partners throughout the world. Entropia Universe was launched in 2003 and has reached over 580,000 registered accounts. MindArk offers the Entropia Universe software to users free of charge with no monthly costs or associated subscription fees. For more information or to download the free Entropia Universe software please visit www.entropiauniverse.com. For more information about Entropia Universe's developer, MindArk, please visit www.mindark.com.

[NightwolfAA2k5]

Originally Posted by Centech

As I recall Jolana first appeareed at the time of the last big land auction when amethera was opened up to the west. Bought the Esto land, swore up and down that it wasnt a fake avatar or a reseller, and then resold the Esto land a few months later and wasn't heard of again.

Now this, as MA puts it, "veteran Entropia Universe participant" is back and buying another expensive piece of 'real estate'.

Veteran?

Participant?

Is this nice spin from MA or do we have an approved second avatar for another player?

If so, It's going to get sold again, lol

[neomaven]

Originally Posted by Leandro Kun

Excellent news that a real bank has taken up one of the licences! Be interested to know who Kitty Bryce is as well. Neo! Have you been buying stuff again?

If I recall correctly, Kitty Brice actually bid against me on some of the Land Area auctions last July or August (the new ones in the Jungle and Arctic lands).

[fluKe]

Yup, and this "Veteran" posted last year July here on EF asking whether Opalo or Jester was a better choice...

[Leandro Kun]

Originally Posted by neomaven

If I recall correctly, Kitty Brice actually bid against me on some of the Land Area auctions last August (the new ones in the Jungle and Arctic lands).

Yeah, and I guess you probably don't hail from Brighton either

[Midori Fairlona]

Originally Posted by Bertha Bot

MONETA.RU is an Internet payment provider that was established in Russia in 2005. The website of the company is www.moneta.ru. The company's main goal is providing the most secure and comfortable online payments for its customers -- merchants and online shoppers -- on the Russian and CIS market. At the moment MONETA.RU is experiencing a rapid development due to being a payment gateway that aggregates all the most popular payment systems and solutions available on the Russian market and therefore providing the most powerful payment tool for merchants. Online shoppers use MONETA.RU as an e-wallet and enjoy the most complete list of available deposit and withdrawal options. All transactions are processed with the maximum speed and comfort, and are protected by the cutting-edge security system of MONETA.RU. The company's development strategy lies in orientation of partnerships with foreign companies. MONETA.RU is the first and only Russian processor of online payments which was purposely founded to assist overseas companies with entering the Russian and CIS market and sharing its enormous potential.

I wonder who the provider of the next depositing option is going to be...

[Jake Rogue]

More Excellent News from MindArk!!

It's interesting to me that they are currently holding back on the identity of the real life bank that "Janus JD D'Arcwire" was representing, whilst still going ahead with this press release anyway.

Does this suggest that we can soon expect another press release, and even bigger news, in the near future (possibly linked to the new ATM cards)?



Either way, this is great news for MindArk, Entropia Universe and all of its participants.