An article from BBC News recounts the tale of a 22-year-old Australian gamer who just purchased a plot of virtual land for the game Project Entropia at an online auction for US$26,500.

The interesting part is that unlike Sony Online Entertainment (makers of EverQuest) and others, this company not only encourages, but requires regular movement of real-world funds in and out of the game.

Basically, you pay in cash to acquire skills and property in the game. If you create items of value, you can trade PED (Project Entropia Dollars) for them and then later redeem those at the same currency rate (less fees, of course) of 10 PED to 1 USD.

Chalk one up for "if you can't beat them, join them"