In an unusual move for the virtual world space, Sony Online Entertainment is now offering a lifetime membership to Free Realms. This VIP lifetime subscription will only be offered for a limited time, from July 16 through August 2.  

Holders of the special lifetime VIP subscription are entitled to 5 additional jobs, ranking on the Free Realms leaderboards, 3 additional character slots, and a slew of additional virtual items and quests. A monthly subscription to Free Realms costs per month. 

The lifetime subscription fee is a much better deal than similar limited-time offers for subscription MMOs tend to be. Free Realms recently passed the 12 million registered users threshold and has been operating for about 18 months. 

[via Voodoo Extreme]