Inmates at a prison in China were "forced" into gold farming, respectable British newspaper The Guardian has reported. 300 people at one particular prison were made to collect virtual currency in online games, to be sold for real money to people who didn't want to gather it themselves.

"Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour," Liu Dali, a pseudonymous former prison guard who was jailed for three years in 2004, told The Guardian. "There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn CN¥5,000-6,000 [$770-925] a day. We didn't see any of the money. The computers were never turned off." Read more »

Back in June, Shacknews reported on the effects of popular virtual currencies on the Chinese economy. The Chinese government has responded by taking a piece of that cottage industry for itself: the nation is instituting a 20% personal income tax on profits made from virtual currencies.

The tax, announced today by China's State Administration of Taxation, "specifically takes aim at those who buy virtual currency from gamers and surfers and sell it to others at a mark-up," according to a Wall Street Journal report noticed by Gamasutra. Read more »

Over 4 million of China's youth are addicted to what the state deems "unhealthy" online games, claims a Chinese lawmaker.

The 4 million represent ten percent of Chinese internet users under 18, according to the AFP. The term "unhealthy games" could refer to any number online games including Blizzard's World of Warcraft, which boasts millions of subscribers in China. The same games were called "spiritual opium" by another Chinese lawmaker earlier this year. Read more »