Entropia Universe Enters 2008 Guinness World Records Book for "Most Expensive Virtual World Object"

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN--(Marketwire - September 18, 2007) - Entropia Universe, the leading virtual worlds platform for interactive entertainment, community building and e-commerce using a real cash economy, boasts the Most Valuable Virtual Items and Real Estate of all the virtual worlds. The new 2008 Guinness World Records book features Club NEVERDIE, an asteroid space resort bought for $100,000 USD by famous gamer Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs as "The Most Expensive Virtual Object." The asteroid space resort which boasts a nightclub, shopping mall, 1000 apartment complexes, commercial space ship docking, mega sports stadium, and hunting and mining biodomes is the highest grossing privately owned virtual event venue online, estimated to be worth in excess of $1 Million USD if ever placed back on the market.

"The inclusion of the space resort and Entropia Universe in the Guinness World Records book confirms the viability of our real cash economy," says Marco Behrmann, Chief Information Officer at MindArk PE AB, the development company behind Entropia Universe. "Participants realized early on the enormous potential in Entropia Universe for real commerce. In fact, the space resort had recouped its initial acquisition cost and was operating at a profit after only 8 months, and remains one of the primary event locations in the Entropia Universe."

The record breaking sum of $100,000 USD was almost broken this year when a virtual bank license was sold in Entropia Universe in May for $99,900 USD. With a daily turnover estimated to be around $1.25 million USD Entropia Universe is the richest virtual universe per capita, with a turnover almost 15 times greater per account than its closest virtual world rival.

Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs says, "The reason Entropia Universe is such a great platform for virtual commerce is because everyone who participates in the world has a place in the economy not just as a consumer, but as a productive participant. Unlike the rest of the Internet and other virtual worlds where you simply browse, search, and buy, Entropia encourages you to actively gather natural virtual resources in a fun way and then trade or sell them to other people who need them. This is what makes the economy so dynamic and creates tremendous opportunity for new people joining. Ultimately, opportunity is what most people are seeking. It is much harder to find that in an environment where there's no demand for resources and labor."

Many high-end items in Entropia Universe are regularly traded between players for tens of thousands of dollars. Recently documented sales include a virtual shopping mall for $70,000 USD, a land area for $35,000, a top-of-the-line healing kit for $30,000, an Imp MK II Hunting Rifle for $17,000 USD, a spaceship and hangar for $12,000, a complete Supremacy armor set for $11,000 USD and a Unique Green Atrox Queen (mystery) Egg for $10,000. "To people unfamiliar with life in virtual reality, these numbers might seem insane, but in fact most of these items are simply tools for making money. In the right hands, the investments can prove to be very profitable for their owners, hence the extremely high market values. While these high-end items command high market prices, a thriving economy in a multitude of natural resources does allow participants to play an essential and entertaining role in Entropia's economy with little or no investment," says NEVERDIE.

Entropia Universe was recently selected by CRD, a Beijing company owned in part by the Chinese government, to become the primary virtual world for the Chinese market. Plans are underway to expand the universe to support up to 150,000,000 users. In 2008, a major graphics engine upgrade using the acclaimed CryENGINE 2 will expand Entropia Universe into a space age economy introducing multiple planets privately owned and operated by major global media companies. Travel to and from the planets will be via spaceship through treacherous pirate infested space lanes. "We are planning the biggest virtual reality event in history to celebrate this new era of Entropia Universe," says Jan Welter Timkrans, CEO of MindArk. "Our new hyper realistic graphics engine combined with economic impact of the new planets will make Entropia Universe the biggest virtual universe available with the potential to provide millions of full time participants the opportunity to derive meaningful income from their pursuits."

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.

Entropia Universe was launched in January 2003 and has grown to over 630,000 registered accounts from 200 plus countries, its business model is entirely unique as the client software is free to download from the internet and there are no monthly subscription fees. As the only virtual universe whose currency, the PED, has a fixed exchange rate of 10:1 with the US Dollar, Entropia Universe provides a means for new players to immediately start exploring and earning cash without having to deposit money. The funds acquired in Entropia Universe can easily be withdrawn into real life cash.

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 US $26,500, the largest virtual dollar amount spent, to 22-year-old Australian David Storey, a.k.a. "Deathifier." In May 2007, MindArk sold five virtual banking licenses for over US $400,000 and among the buyers are real world banks and financial establishments, alongside with Entropia participants.

Entropia Universe is a registered trademark of MindArk PE AB. MindArk supports and monitors the services and maintenance of the Entropia Universe site. MindArk PE AB 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 630,000 registered accounts. 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 PE AB, please visit www.mindark.com.

About Guinness World Records

In 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the managing director of the Guinness Brewery, went on a shooting party and became involved in an argument. Which was the fastest game bird in Europe -- the golden plover or the grouse? He realized then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove popular. He was right!

Sir Hugh's idea became reality when Norris and Ross McWhirter, who had been running a fact-finding agency in London, were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of Records. The first edition was bound on August 27, 1955, and went to the top of the British bestseller lists by Christmas that year.

Since then, Guinness World Records™ has become a household name and the global leader in world records. No other enterprise collects, confirms, accredits and presents world record data with the same investment in comprehensiveness and authenticity. The Records Management Team maintains a vigilant watch to guarantee the accuracy and relevance of each and every Guinness World Record™, the team of Records Managers operates with unswerving impartiality and commitment to veracity. A fact may only become a Guinness World Record™ when it's tested, verified and elevated above all suspicion.

The book has gone on to become a record breaker in its own right. With sales of more than 100 million copies in 100 different countries and 37 languages, Guinness World Records™ is the world's best ever selling copyright book!

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