China Demands: Prove You're A Lady

I join you live from a secret location in the United States, on a secret mission for Rock, Paper, Shotgun that will hopefully become a lot less secret very soon. But I'd get excited now, just to be prepared.

Meanwhile, I bring you news of a more immediate nature. Fearsome-looking news site Pacific Epoch reports on a Chinese MMO that has started freezing the accounts of male players who play as female characters.

The game, King Of The World, (possibly better translated "World Of Legend"?) is going to demand proof of your gender if you want an in-game VJ. According to Pacific Epoch,

"Aurora stipulates that only female gamers can play female characters in the game, and it requires gamers who chose female characters to prove their biological sex with a webcam, according to the report."

Which is bad news if you're me or Kieron, as we both habitually play as women in games. Make-up and wigs for us then.

Further RPS research suggests that the game might have 'husband and wife' roles, which might explain why they'd wanted genuine females to play the wives. As this website explains:

The World of Legend is the first game in our trilogy, The Genesis Of The Century. Inside the World of Legend, user's characters exist in a virtual community where they experience unique lives as masters or apprentices, husbands or wives and members of a guild.