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They always say the two things you can't avoid in life are death and taxes. Yet, being an MMO player, death always just seems to be a part of life. And now, governments around the world are beginning to become interested in putting in the other unavoidable part of life in our gaming experience -- as if we had enough of death.

As in-game transactions and RMT are beginning to become major boons to business the government is getting interested. And, of course, like any good government, they want their share. China was only the first, now Sweden and South Korea are interested in getting their tax laws straight as well.

Taxing game transactions, however, isn't as easy as making laws that tax a physical currency. There's the issues of relative value, constantly diminishing returns as more money flows into virtual economies without enough monetary sinks in the game, and the whole issue if the game goes out of business.

We tend to believe that worlds like this should avoid colliding, but it seems that as we begin to mesh our virtual currencies and begin to value them as much as our real world ones, paths like these seem inevitable.

"So I've got a great idea!" says executive Bob at Electronic Arts, "Lets license out the Dungeon Keeper property for an MMORPG!" John, who happens to be a puppet on Bob's hand, says, "That's a brilliant idea, old chap!" The apparently British imaginary friend makes an awkward smile. Bob continues, "We'll give it to a Chinese developer who can release it all over the Asian markets." John the British puppet responds, "Wonderful, will you bring it to Western markets?" Bob replies with, "Who cares?" and they both laugh -- at least in Bob's twisted mind.

This is honestly the only sequence of events that, in our minds, makes sense when considering the fact that Electronic Arts has licensed out the Dungeon Keeper property as an MMO to Chinese-based developer NetDragon Websoft with the intent to eventually bring it overseas. While we're sure it'll do fine in the eastern markets, it just baffles the mind to think that EA is taking an RTS title originally designed for the west -- the original game was steeped in British humor -- and having an eastern developer create an MMO out of it that will more than likely appeal primarily to easterners only.

You've encountered them before. Those guys. Them. Next to the ISK spammers, they're a plague within EVE Online.

They have gibberish names and sit in ice belts all day in exhumers, macro controlling large mining operations. At the first sign of trouble they gang warp out to safety. Or they're automating courier missions in an endless procession of macro'ed industrials, day in and day out. Or they're part of the infinite army of 0.0 ratting Ravens that automatically warp to a safespot and cloak once someone enters the system. They're all in China, right? The macros are all used by large ISK farming operations where people work in 23/7 shifts... right?

Apparently, that's wrong. EVE-Mag is running an article written by a self-proclaimed macro'er. Only he doesn't work in a sweatshop in a developing nation. He doesn't grind long shifts for ISK. He's an American in his early thirties, with two kids and a family dog. Just a regular guy. He writes under the pseudonym "EVE Player" and poses a question to his readers, "I have macro'ed the holy crap out of certain video games. I've been doing it for more than 8 years now so tell me; at what point did you notice your EVE experience going down the tubes because of me? I'll bet your downward spiral really has nothing to do with me macro'ing, now does it?"

Is taxation of commerce in the virtual space inevitable? We've been hearing more and more about this coming out of China, South Korea, and Sweden, but a recent piece on BBC News -- "Slapping a tax on playtime" -- hits a bit closer to home for many of us. Flora Graham, a technology reporter for BBC News, spoke with Professor Edward Castronova of Indiana University, well-known for his research and commentary on virtual economies over the years, and game researcher Dr. Richard Bartle about the impact of taxation on games and virtual worlds.

Castronova points out the idea of taxation of virtual goods exchanged for virtual money, saying, "... it's an extraordinarily dangerous development... It's as if every time I played soccer in my backyard and scored a goal, I would have to pay the government three euros. It takes away from the game's contribution to human happiness."

We've mentioned the Chinese MMO Zhengtu Online (ZT Online) in the past. It's one of the most controversial MMOs in existence, largely due to its focus on RMT and the hardcore extremes its players go to in order to get ahead. ZT Online, developed by Giant Interactive, is very much a blending of a virtual casino and fantasy MMO; gaming security site PlayNoEvil once described ZT Online as "EVE Online meets Las Vegas." Not surprisingly, the title frequently makes headlines in China, and occasionally in the west for the legal issues which crop up in regards to ZT Online.

PlayNoEvil reports, "Giant Interactive had been running the 'crack house' of free-to-play gaming with its (once? still?) immensely popular game ZT Online. In the third quarter, the company moved away from its heavy reliance on purchased items towards steadier playing." That is to say, they're cutting back on the extent to which the game, and its gear, is monetized. It's not often that an MMO developer or publisher assesses the situation and intentionally opts to earn less money, but in terms of ZT Online's longevity, Giant Interactive Chairman and CEO Yuzhu Shi believes this is the right way to expand the title's playerbase. Despite this shift in business model, average revenue per user dropped to roughly $41, suggesting they're still earning a great deal of money from the title, years into its life. Indeed, ZT Online is enjoying profits per-user revenue comparable to World of Warcraft in China, PlayNoEvil concludes.

Clarification: Comparison between ZT Online and World of Warcraft revenues in China is on a per-user basis. Updated text in bold.

China's State Administration of Taxation recently imposed a 20 percent income tax rate on profits made from virtual currency and virtual items, sparking price increases for virtual goods. While this tax rate (if actually enforced) clearly impacts the virtual space, it also affects transactions happening outside of MMO servers and virtual world grids. The taxation policy could ultimately extend to the virtual currencies linked to the largest IM providers in China such as Tencent, drastically increasing the percentage of the population affected by the new laws. Despite this, the positive benefits of eliminating gray and black markets for virtual items and currency may outweigh the drawbacks for gamers and users of the various digital services in China.

Questions remain about what will and will not be taxed in the virtual space, but it's clear that individuals who gain virtual income are expected to declare their profits and pay taxes on this, and do so within seven days of having earned the profit, according to Shanghai Daily.Taxpayers who can provide proof of the value of this property or the value of the transaction are taxed at 20 percent on their profits, while those who cannot provide sufficient verification are taxed at three percent of the total transaction value. But how many people are affected by this new system?

In an interview with videogaming247, Turbine bigwig Jeffrey Steefel said that he expects The Lord of the Rings Online to become the second viably successful western MMO in Asia (after World of Warcraft), should his team get the Chinese launch right. The two MMO-playing communities have historically had very different tastes, but Steefel believes western devs are finally figuring out how to break into the east. "That's where a big part of the global gaming market is and it's been that way for a long time," he said, "but we're only just now figuring how western games can begin to tap into that market.

Steefel also noted -- as many of Blizzard's competitors have been keen to do -- that much of WoW's growth in recent months has been in Asia, not in America or Europe. Guess he's hoping to capture a little of that Blizzard cross-cultural mojo when his game launches in China and Korea. We're aware Asia is a long way away for most of our readers, so for those of you who could care less: check out our own interview with Steefel for subjects a little closer to home. Shameless, aren't we?

When you think of a rapidly developing Asian nation, fast becoming a global superpower and now harnessing the potential of supercomputing, what's the first purpose for this supercomputer that comes to mind? Hint: think video games, not war games. Regardless of your first thought, we're betting you wouldn't have guessed "World of Warcraft"... but it's true.

China's World of Warcraft servers are run by The9, who own Blizzard's distribution rights in the country. "Earlier this year, The9 boasted of hosting more than one million World of Warcraft players online at the same time.To support the complex calculations required to create the game's graphics, The9 owns more than 10 supercomputer systems," Ashlee Vance reports for The New York Times.

Addiction as it applies to MMOs and internet activity in general is a contentious issue. Many of the more unusual or extreme stories regarding the actions that result from digital addiction tend to come to us from Asia, especially China. The pace and fervor with which China's internet savvy population has seized the web and all that it offers -- both good and bad -- is staggering. The web has become integral to entertainment in China, particularly for the younger generation, but it's brought with it a host of societal problems and crime.

Only days ago, the Chinese government classified Internet addiction as a mental disease, a fact which may well stay the execution of Hu Ange, a 22-year-old man who poisoned his own parents... apparently so they would not interfere with his addiction to the online game Legend. Hu was sentenced to death, but the case is now being appealed on the grounds that he is mentally ill.

There was a time when the western MMO market was flooded with imports of popular Korean titles. While there's still a steady influx of Asian games reworked to fit western playstyles, there's also a growing number of western MMOs being exported to Asia, particularly Korea. The obvious title that succeeds anywhere it goes is World of Warcraft, whose Asian following is legion. But smaller games have also been making inroads. EVE Online has been operating in China for years and Hellgate: London gained a new lease on life in Korea. They're not alone in this. Turbine has its eyes set on expanding into Korea with Lord of the Rings Online, and we know that Age of Conan is marching eastward, too. The latest successful western title to look east is Warhammer Online, which will soon be played in Korea as well.

Electronic Arts and Hangame are partnering to bring WAR to South Korea. In a related press statement, Mythic's Mark Jacobs said, "By partnering with Hangame, we hope to provide Korean gamers with a fresh, new fantasy experience and years' worth of Realm vs. Realm adventures on the frontlines of WAR." You can see the full announcement about WAR's attempt to capture Korean gamers over at The Earth Times. Given how PvP-centric Korean MMOs tend to be, do you think Warhammer Online would be a natural fit for gamers in this market?

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	Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

When most of us hear talk of the company "Epic Games", the first thing that comes to mind is Gears of War or the Unreal series of titles. While Epic Games had a Shanghai games studio for outsourcing purposes, it's now evolved into Titan Studios, a wholly owned subsidiary based in Seattle. Through Titan Studios, it seems Epic Games is turning their attention to MMOGs, following up their work on the PS3 title Fat Princess.

As to what's going on within the Titan Studios walls, GameSpot's Tom Magrino reports that "an undefined number of unannounced projects are in the works at the studio, one of which is a massively multiplayer online game." Needless to say, that bit of information has piqued our interest, and we'll keep our eyes open at Massively for more about the Titan Studios MMO project in the future.

While much of the world's gold farming activity is based in mainland China, the black market industry operates in violation of the law. Despite this, a large part of the problem in curbing illegal activities in China is that there's a substantial divide between what the law states is illegal and the actual enforcement of those laws. This may well be the case with the law passed last week by China's State Administration of Taxation, which will impose a personal income tax rate of 20% on profits made from virtual currency.

Juliet Ye at The Wall Street Journal's "China Journal" blog reports: "The policy would cover China's legions of online gamers, who can use online virtual currency to buy better equipment and new powers for their online warriors. But it also affects millions of others who use virtual currencies on instant-messaging services and Web portals." The widespread use of virtual currencies in China spurred last year's restrictions on exchanging virtual currency into RMB. If the new law becomes a reality rather than a technicality in the lives of China's internet users, it will be a substantial change in virtual economics in the country.

We've heard about gold farmers tangling with the law before, but this is pretty extreme from initial accounts we've turned up. So while a few of the details coming out of Korea are still a bit hazy, it seems a money laundering operation (working with gold farmers and MMO account thieves) was busted this week while trying to move $38 million between Korea and China. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated the operation was headed by a man named Jeong who, with a number of other individuals in Korea, was caught wiring the $38 million in illicit funds.

Korean news site dongA reports: "Jeong and his ring reportedly sold the game money illegally produced in China using cheap labor and virus programs. They are believed to have taken a commission of three to five percent of the money traded to purchase game money."

Lots of people predict a new game being the next WoW-killer, or at least irritate others with those predictions, but in China some people are talking about a KartRider-killer. One of the most popular games in China -- indeed, throughout Asia -- is an MMO based off of GoKart racing and it looks like other competitors are about to take on Nexon's KartRider dominance. What's interesting is that the main person behind this is none other than American McGee, who's now turning his attention to the MMO space with a new game called BaiJiu Racer, which our sister site Big Download reports.

If you've ever played the trippy game American McGee's Alice, a twisted continuation of Alice in Wonderland released in 2000, you'll probably remember his name. American McGee currently heads up the Shanghai-based Spicy Horse game studio which most recently developed the episodic PC game Grimm. BaiJiu Racer (context: BaiJiu is a 120 proof liquor) already has a Chinese publisher, but McGee is seeking to bring the title to western markets as well, and is putting out a call to interested parties. While a kart-racing game might not seem like the most viable MMO game to release outside of Asia, you might want to have a look at the trailer found below the cut, it looks like fun.

Are you aware of your property rights as they pertain to the virtual goods in your favorite MMO? Are you aware of the laws in your country as they pertain to virtual goods? Heck, do you even read the EULA?

It seems like these lawyer-speak agreements are becoming more prevalent lately, as we impatiently click the 'agree' button in anticipation of playing the latest MMO. In fact, even older games are reinstating their EULA on the loading screens, forcing players to click through before entering their world. The reason for this basically boils down to inevitable litigation as gaming grows in popularity.