An angry gamer stabbed a guy to death after the man sold his virtual dragon saber online for about $1,000. Qiu Chengwei, 41, stabbed Zhu Caoyuan in the "left chest with great force and killing him."

Qiu and a buddy had won the cyber sword in the online game Legend of Mir 3 and then Qiu lent it to Zhu, who promptly sold it for cash. When Qiu confronted Zhu about the theft, the man promised to pay him, but Qiu lost patience and got to stabbing.

Qiu had apparently first tried to go to police about the theft, but was told the item was not protected by the law because it was not real property.

The issue of real laws and cyber property is growing in importance in China, where massively multiplayer gaming is an enormous industry. At least one law professor things some real word laws should extend to online gaming.

The armour and swords in games should be deemed as private property as players have to spend money and time for them.

Online Gamer Stabbed for Selling Cyber-Saber [Reuters]

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