Interesting CNET article on how company's stand to make a lot of money, and everyone would be better off, if they just allowed and even promoted real world transactions for virtual goods.

Perhaps the makers of virtual worlds shouldn't be so persnickety about allowing players to exchange real money for virtual goods.

In a report set to be released Wednesday, Sony Online Entertainment has concluded that so-called real-money trades can be good for both gamers and publishers if handled at controlled locations such as Sony's own Station Exchange, a 1-year-old experiment to make transactions of virtual goods for real money a direct part of EverQuest II rather than an illicit activity.