02 Feb 2007
EBay has banned auctions selling items from online games such as World of Warcraft because the legal issues surrounding such sales are unclear.
The auction site explained that the ban on virtual goods such as 'gold', 'weapons' and 'armour' is being put in place because it is not clear who owns the items.
"We are not saying they are legal and we are not saying they are illegal," eBay spokesman Hani Durzy told Breitbart.com. "We decided it was best to just not allow sales of them."
However, eBay has stopped short of banning auctions of items from virtual communities because they are not defined as games.
"Right now, Second Life is not considered a game so we are not applying the restriction to it, " said Durzy.
He added that the ban on virtual items is similar to eBay's block on sales of alcohol or tobacco, which are lawfully sold elsewhere but are subject to complicated legal restrictions.
"Remember that our policies are ever evolving," said Durzy. "We will change them if the communities, state of the culture, or laws dictate such."
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