<s>
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
(	O
also	O
called	O
MC	O
by	O
players	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
online	B-Application
,	O
browser	B-Application
based	I-Application
,	O
economic	B-Application
and	I-Application
trade	I-Application
simulation	I-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
in	O
the	O
Netherlands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
is	O
free	O
to	O
play	O
,	O
but	O
a	O
premium	O
membership	O
is	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
membership	O
allows	O
for	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
Ventures	O
(	O
MV	O
)	O
with	O
which	O
harbors	O
,	O
banks	O
,	O
and	O
garages	O
can	O
be	O
built	O
,	O
enables	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
start	O
a	O
political	O
party	O
,	O
and	O
gives	O
the	O
player	O
personal	O
smilies	O
and	O
colors	O
on	O
the	O
forums	O
(	O
ingame	O
incorporated	O
as	O
clubs	O
)	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
twice	O
the	O
length	O
of	O
posts	O
in	O
clubs	O
and	O
unlimited	O
number	O
of	O
lots	O
that	O
may	O
be	O
owned	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
for	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
came	O
in	O
October	O
2001	O
when	O
then	O
computer	O
science	O
student	O
Wouter	O
Leenards	O
started	O
thinking	O
about	O
making	O
a	O
realistic	O
trading	O
simulation	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Together	O
with	O
his	O
brother	O
,	O
Mark	O
Leenards	O
,	O
he	O
further	O
developed	O
the	O
plan	O
,	O
and	O
eventually	O
created	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
result	O
is	O
a	O
unique	O
online	B-Application
game	I-Application
for	O
everybody	O
who	O
is	O
interested	O
in	O
trading	O
,	O
economics	O
and	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
advantage	O
of	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
is	O
that	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
played	O
on	O
your	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
,	O
so	O
with	O
any	O
internet	O
connection	O
;	O
at	O
home	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
office	O
,	O
at	O
school	O
or	O
at	O
a	O
friend	O
's	O
house	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
public	O
round	O
of	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
started	O
on	O
January	O
1	O
,	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
the	O
trading	O
is	O
the	O
key	O
,	O
and	O
therefore	O
has	O
realistic	O
situations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
rounds	O
were	O
beta	O
testing	O
where	O
bugs	B-Error_Name
were	O
found	O
and	O
loopholes	O
were	O
used	O
to	O
create	O
imbalance	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
November	O
2005	O
,	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
decided	O
to	O
start	O
actively	O
targeting	O
the	O
international	O
markets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
today	O
,	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
has	O
over	O
14,000	O
registered	O
users	O
from	O
the	O
US	O
,	O
just	O
over	O
4,000	O
from	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
and	O
a	O
core	O
of	O
active	O
Danish	O
players	O
,	O
with	O
over	O
500	O
registered	O
accounts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
,	O
the	O
player	O
starts	O
with	O
1000	O
I-Shell	O
,	O
(	O
the	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
currency	O
)	O
100	O
liters	O
of	O
gasoline	O
and	O
10	O
skill	O
points	O
,	O
which	O
he	O
can	O
use	O
to	O
specialize	O
in	O
the	O
production	O
and	O
sale	O
of	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
also	O
a	O
possibility	O
to	O
start	O
a	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
Corporation	O
,	O
an	O
actual	O
second	O
,	O
third	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
has	O
rounds	O
which	O
last	O
three	O
weeks	O
,	O
with	O
one	O
week	O
breaks	O
in	O
between	O
them	O
allowing	O
for	O
new	O
political	O
positions	O
to	O
be	O
chosen	O
and	O
for	O
the	O
implementation	O
of	O
new	O
features	O
by	O
the	O
Federals	O
&	O
Wouter	O
(	O
the	O
actual	O
game	B-Device
masters	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
also	O
has	O
special	O
trading	O
rounds	O
1	O
–	O
2	O
times	O
a	O
year	O
were	O
traders	O
are	O
given	O
certain	O
tasks	O
or	O
goals	O
to	O
achieve	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
part	O
of	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
is	O
trading	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
can	O
build	O
shops	O
in	O
their	O
hometown	O
,	O
buy	O
shops	O
in	O
other	O
cities	O
or	O
countries	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
dress	O
these	O
up	O
with	O
(	O
animated	O
)	O
banners	B-Device
,	O
increase	O
the	O
marketing	O
so	O
that	O
their	O
shop	O
is	O
more	O
prominent	O
on	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
streets	O
,	O
and	O
add	O
discounts	O
for	O
certain	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
launched	O
in	O
the	O
Netherlands	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
initially	O
only	O
available	O
to	O
Dutch	O
players	O
;	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
has	O
a	O
large	O
number	O
of	O
European	O
players	O
compared	O
to	O
those	O
of	O
other	O
continents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
consists	O
of	O
four	O
countries	O
(	O
Virtua	O
,	O
Digitalie	O
,	O
Cyberie	O
,	O
and	O
Ibisha	O
)	O
each	O
have	O
their	O
own	O
forms	O
of	O
government	O
and	O
structure	O
and	O
laws	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
has	O
a	O
very	O
strong	O
and	O
tight	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
most	O
informal	O
communication	O
takes	O
place	O
via	O
the	O
chat	O
and	O
via	O
WhatsApp	B-Application
,	O
there	O
are	O
some	O
other	O
in-game	O
forms	O
of	O
communication	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Clubs	O
are	O
the	O
internet	B-Application
forums	I-Application
in	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Politics	O
and	O
game	O
announcements	O
also	O
take	O
place	O
through	O
clubs	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
preferred	O
way	O
of	O
communication	O
in	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
has	O
one	O
official	O
newspaper	O
,	O
the	O
Miniconomist	O
,	O
which	O
publishes	O
every	O
week	O
in	O
Dutch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
the	O
newspapers	O
can	O
be	O
found	O
by	O
going	O
to	O
the	O
kiosk	O
in	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Federals	O
,	O
Wouter	O
,	O
Remco	O
–	O
These	O
are	O
the	O
game	B-Device
masters	I-Device
and	O
the	O
development	O
team	O
of	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Central	O
Bureau	O
of	O
Investigation	O
(	O
CBI	O
)	O
agent	O
–	O
This	O
is	O
the	O
anti-cheat	O
team	O
of	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
educational	O
changes	O
make	O
it	O
possible	O
to	O
play	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
with	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
players	O
,	O
like	O
a	O
class	O
of	O
students	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
group	O
leader	O
also	O
gets	O
a	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
account	O
,	O
which	O
he	O
or	O
she	O
can	O
use	O
to	O
take	O
a	O
look	O
into	O
the	O
world	O
of	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
and	O
even	O
trade	O
or	O
compete	O
with	O
the	O
students	O
or	O
the	O
other	O
players	O
if	O
they	O
would	O
like	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
moment	O
is	O
only	O
possible	O
for	O
Dutch	O
schools	O
to	O
use	O
this	O
feature	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
English	O
translations	O
of	O
the	O
Educational	O
Manager	O
are	O
in	O
full	O
progress	O
and	O
the	O
possibility	O
for	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
in	O
the	O
classroom	O
using	O
the	O
English	O
language	O
are	O
expected	O
to	O
be	O
ready	O
after	O
the	O
summer	O
of	O
2008	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
age	O
groups	O
where	O
Miniconomy	B-Operating_System
matches	O
the	O
curriculum	O
are	O
between	O
12	O
and	O
20	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
general	O
developments	O
that	O
students	O
get	O
in	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
language	O
,	O
economics	O
,	O
communication	O
,	O
and	O
politics	O
.	O
</s>
