On 28 May 2008 the Hans-Bredow-Institut for Media Research held an international conference under the title “Real Rules and Virtual Worlds”, in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation. It involved an experts’ workshop, which preceded the public podium discussion on the chances and risks of regulation by nation-states. Legal scholars from Europe and the USA approached fundamental legal questions concerning virtual online games environments. This process thoroughly elucidated various, still relatively new phenomena by means of new and existing legal concepts and from the viewpoint of systems committed to both to the continental tradition of civil law and to common-law. The overall focus concerned general legal questions as much as specialised ones on "virtual ownership rights" and "virtual personal rights".