"This virtual march on Washington will allow every American opposed to the war to stand up and be counted, by calling, faxing and emailing the US Senate and the White House, " Sheen says in the ad.

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Through his investment firm Revolution, AOL founder Steve Case backed startup Loosecubes in March, which matches virtual workers with companies that have free desk space.

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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, a unit of the Treasury Department, in March issued guidelines that said virtual currency exchanges are subject to the same comprehensive anti-money-laundering requirements as traditional money-transmission businesses such as Western Union Co.

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Yet when Mr Checchi was obliged to beam down from the virtual world to the real one to attend a convention of the state's Democratic Party in Los Angeles on March 20th-22nd, he put on a dismal performance.

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