That's interesting. A (lower) Dutch court ruled that Bitcoin isn't money or currency, but a medium of exchange for barter, giving it the same status as gold or silver or seashells. As far as I know this ruling hasn't been overruled by a higher court, so it still stands as case law. So, in The Netherlands Bitcoin is not a virtual currency at the moment, and barter is perfectly legal and not subject to control measures. I wonder how this will play out.