• Associated Press, Thursday, January 19, 2006 10:30 AM

PC Gamer, the country's biggest magazine for computer gamers, has said it will stop taking ads from companies involved in the virtual trade. It may come as a surprise to those of you who've never heard of this, but there are legitimate, money-making companies who charge gamers for special potions, armor, weapons, livestock, and whatever else you can think of for use in their massively multiplayer online role-playing games. In any event, these companies used to advertise with PC Gamer, but now they won't. PC Gamer has stopped buying the ads of so-called "gold farmers," which refers to those who buy virtual goods online from top players to resell them to others for a profit. Many gamers detest the practice, which essentially promotes cheating in these virtual worlds. PC Gamer's hard-line stance against "gold farming" came after several readers complained about seeing ads for these companies in the magazine. Meanwhile, the trade in such virtual goods is estimated at over $100 million a year.

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