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This has a major impact on us here at Streetplay. Losing money was our linchpin, our strategic plan, the very thing that would put us on the radar scope with all the other billion dollar Internet startups (see Streetplay's initial business plan published April 1 1999). At launch, the goal was to double our losses each month. Starting with $100 in April '99, we projected a loss of $200 in May, $400 in June, escalating to over $200k by March 2000. A loss of nearly $25 million in the 2q fiscal 2001 would clearly have demonstrated our projected valuation as a billion dollar company.

A year has passed and things didn't quite happen as we expected. Sure, we had some pretty good excuses for not reaching our initial goals (see the top 10 reasons Streetplay didn't lose millions in '99, as well as the cool charts), but the ultimate reason for our not becoming hopelessly insolvent is simple: Streetplay refuses follow the pack. Instead of getting caught up in the fad of debt, we decided to distinguish ourselves in the crowded and competitive e-space. How? By printing our own money.

The U.S. Treasury Department, a traditional "brick and mortar" organization with a monopoly in the American money-publishing arena, doesn't take kindly to counterfeiting. No need to worry, we are creating our own "street-legal tender," with unique logos and mottoes. Furthermore, instead of competing with Fort Knox, in the areas where they are well established (20, 50, and 100 dollar denominations), our approach will be creating money in the still unused part of the spectrum.

In celebration of the creation of the Streetplay Mint, we proudly introduce the Streetplay $7 note (SP$7). You can download it, print it, even copy it if you wish. The only thing we ask is to make sure it brings you at least SP$7 worth of good clean fun and games in the bargain. We currently don't know of any products that can be purchased with SP currency (let us know if you'd like to offer some) nor do we have any investors, we can placate with this new idea. Still, we guarantee, Streetplay money is going to bring on some good times.

And just to show the Treasury department that there's no hard feelings we're also introducing a contest in honor of money and taxation! The topic is: What did you do for money before the days when you were too young to have to report it?" Think about it, money had a totally different meaning when you were a kid. Go to the contest entry page and tell us your best story on this topic! If you win, we'll give you $50 and donate $50 to the children's charity of your choice (and that's real American money, not our own stuff!)