How is BTC different than Facebook coins or MS points?

[Agozyen]

 So I read the article on CNN about bitcoins days are numbered ( http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/06/17/the-clock-is-ticking-on-bitcoin/ ) and the Mario/Matrix comment got me thinking.  I can exchange USD for Sony Station Cash, Microsoft Points, Facebook Coins and thousands of other different virtual currencies out there.  I can then use those Rubies/Smurfberries/Zombie Brains to buy items for that particular game.  To me, the only difference between BTC and these other currencies is that they are able to be used in many more places.  Of course I am speaking from the point of a consumer and not as someone who is mining or excited about the technology and its implications.
 
So if my assumption is correct and they are no different, won't the government also have to get bent out of shape about all those other virtual currencies too?

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[BitcoinPorn]

Lets see your Microsoft Space Bucks buy you things off the Silk Road :p

Jokes.   But kind of serious.    This whole thread seems like troll bait.

[willphase]

other virtual currencies have central authorities which control them.  If you want to shut the currency down, just shut down the central authority.

Bitcoin has no central authority, so it is more resilient to being shut down.

Will

[forbun]

One big difference is the lack of a central authority. If Facebook coins start becoming a viable alternative to the US Dollar, the government can go to Facebook, influence them, and control them.

But if Bitcoins catch on, the government has nobody to turn to.