3pointD.com

Entropia Universe continues to baffle. The massively multiplayer online game turned virtual world now claims half a million users, according to a recent press release. And there are still PR flaks pushing the exploits of Jon “Neverdie” Jacobs, an Entropia member who reportedly purchased a virtual space report for the whopping sum of $100,000. What the flaks don’t tell you is that Jacobs was (is?) a paid Entropia spokesperson, making the purchase more or less meaningless.

Which is too bad, since despite the hype, Neverdie’s Web site actually makes it looks like there’s something intereting going on in the virtual world formerly known as Project Entropia. The last time I was there, however, that was certainly not the case. I probably won’t be back anytime soon, but even if I wanted to go, they might not let me. Check out this clause from the service’s terms of use: “You cannot spread any rumors about MindArk, the Entropia Universe, and MindArk Staff or Partners, that can be considered potentially damaging, using the Entropia Universe, IRC or any other public forums in any media now known or not currently known, including but not limited to a web space.”

I guess that leaves me out of Entropia’s December 10 event as well, in which the company will throw a party for Nobel laureates and members of the Swedish Royal family, who swap prizes right around that time. Jacobs will throw a concurrent party at his nightclub in Entropia, which will be projected into the physical party venue in Stockholm for the laureates to ponder. Hey, if the event leads to someone really smart taking up virtual worlds, so much the better.