The economies of online worlds such as Second Life are undergoing robust growth - which some say will soon draw the attention of the Internal Revenue Service.

The ever-expanding growth of these virtual economies, based on real dollars, is continuing to draw mainstream media attention, and in turn Congress is beginning to notice, CNET writes. "Given growth rates of 10 to 15 percent a month, the question is when, not if, Congress and IRS start paying attention to these issues," Dan Miller, a senior economist with the Congress's Joint Economic Committee, is quoted as saying.
 
His comments came during a panel last week called "Tax and Finance" at the State of Play/Terra Nova symposium, the fourth annual gathering at New York Law School of academics, lawyers and other scholars to discuss legal, social and economic issues related to virtual worlds.

Miller said the Joint Economic Committee is expected to produce a report early next year addressing the intersection of virtual worlds with public policy; the potential uses of virtual worlds by commercial, nonprofit and governmental bodies; and tax issues. "We will look at factual technical questions, like what is a taxable event in a virtual world," he said.