Live Gamer promises to legitimize the practice of the real money trade of virtual property.

The real money exchange in virtual worlds is a controversial subject, because many times, those buying or selling virtual items operate outside the boundaries of MMO publisher's terms of service, and such practices can cause in-game economies to go off-balance.

But newly-launched New York-based Live Gamer says that it is a "fully transparent, secure, publisher-sanctioned marketplace" for virtual goods. The new company has the support of Funcom, Sony Online Entertainment, 10tacle Studios, Acclaim, GoPets LTD and Ping0 Interactive Limited.

The company said that it provides a toolset "for publishers to preserve the integrity of the in-game economy and offer a legitimate alternative to 'gold farming.'" Live Gamer said it will operate within publishers' Terms of Service and End User License Agreements.

The virtual item market is worth $1.8 billion annually, according to to a June New York Times article.

"Virtual trading has the potential to open an entirely new dimension for the player experience in some games, but it has also caused endless grief through the actions of gold farmers and fraud artists, as well as the generally poor quality of service to participants," said Funcom CEO Trond A. Aas in a statement. "Live Gamer makes it possible for publishers to satisfy players' growing demand for this type of activity in selected future games by providing a legitimate and balanced outlet that protects their experiences. We really look forward to offering this opportunity to players in our upcoming casual MMOG."

"Virtual item trading is already transforming the way people experience MMOGs and virtual worlds, but in its traditional underground context, the impact could be as easily negative as positive for a given player or world," stated co-founder and president Andrew Schneider, a former Sony Pictures exec.

Live Gamer's other co-founder is chairman Mitch Davis, who is former CEO of Microsoft-owned in-game ad firm Massive Inc. and CEO of game house Brash Entertainment.

The new firm recently secured $24 million in venture funding from Charles River Ventures, Kodiak Venture Partners, and Pequot Ventures.

"Even in illicit form, the virtual trading economy has proven that vast demand exists...," said Davis in a statement.