Others News
- Possible virtual money laundering probed
Date: 15-Jan-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
THE central bank is keeping its eye on a popular virtual currency dubbed the 'Q-coin,'which some experts said could threaten the yuan, Xinhua news agency said Friday.
The currency is issued by Tencent, a leading Internet community operator, for users of QQ, an on-line chat room that has some 220 million users.
It can be bought with bank cards, telephone cards or QQ cards at an official exchange rate of one to one yuan (12.5 U.S. cents) and was originally intended for buying services including electronic greeting cards, cartoon portraits, chips in on-line QQ games and anti-virus software.
'But many people have begun using Q-coins when trading among themselves and in buying commodities and services provided by other Web sites,'Xinhua said.
Some experts worry that conversion between the Q-coin and the yuan, if unchecked, could lead to dire economic consequences.
'I don't think the Q-coin is threatening the yuan, but the central bank has begun to study the issue,'Li Chao, a spokesman for the People's Bank of China, was quoted as saying.
'We will firmly crack down on virtual money if it is used to launder money,'he said.
Sponsor Results:
