The metamondo of commerce made in China

From the Chinese factory to the western consumer, passing through a metamondo. This is the goal that the government of the People’s Republic intends to achieve with the virtual counterpart of the Beijing Recreational Cyber ​​District (CRD), located in a persistent online world dedicated to commerce, entertainment and culture.

Free and free registration, educational events and company meetings, all supported by a technological infrastructure offered by the Swedish MindArk, demiurger of Entropia Universe, which was awarded the contract among numerous competitors, including Second Life.

The metamondo of the People’s Republic will reside on Pekingese servers managed by government technicians. The veto against pornographic drifts and ******** will be rigorous, to promote that “healthy culture in the use of the Net” recommended by party president Hu Hintao in recent months.
The aspect on which the Chinese government has instead decided to compromise is that of virtual economies: if recently the party had criticized the uncontrollable circulation of virtual money, it is now taking a step in the opposite direction.

It is AP to report the statements of the construction manager Chi Tai Robert Lai, who at Virtual Worlds 2007 offered an overview of the project and hinted that the government will be able to impose taxes on the metamondo market, translating virtual currency exchanges into hard currency to draw on, taxing virtual commercial operators.

Online stores will open and local industries will be able to gain a showcase that will attract the attention of consumers, industries and retailers around the world, hopes Robert Lai. It will be possible for Chinese entrepreneurs bypass the intermediaries , and to offer products that have invaded Western markets at even more competitive prices. For some types of merchandise, they may even propose to customize the products, thus breaking the habit of serialization and shaking up the business model and the value chain typical of the emerging market industry.

Robert Lai also imagines a scenario in which it is the netizens-consumers themselves who improvise as entrepreneurs, using an online auction platform integrated into the meta world, modeled on what is now happening on some synthetic island of Second Life. The start of the project? From the second half of 2008, just in time for the Olympics.

Gaia Bottà