The first Eve is Real community reward has been unlocked for all players of Eve Online.

Eve Online publishers, CCP Games, launched the Eve is Real website last month, with a goal of encouraging players to upload images and videos of their exploits in the Eve Online universe. From August 18, visitors to the site will be able to vote for their favourite Eve image or video, with those receiving the most votes to be rewarded with in-game currency, NVIDIA graphics cards or even a high-end Alienware PC.

Images and videos uploaded to the Eve is Real site can be shared via social networking sites. Once certain sharing milestones are met the entire Eve Online player base is rewarded with the in-game micro-transaction currency, Aurum.

The first sharing milestone was met at the end of last week, when all active game accounts received 1,000 Aurum as a reward for uploading and sharing over one thousand images and videos, each showing a snapshot of life as an EVE Online capsuleer.

Aurum can be spent in the recently released Noble Exchange, which was rolled out as part of the Incarna update. The Noble Exchange caters for players wishing to enhance their in-game character with new premium clothing and accessories.

The Noble Exchange has not been without controversy, with concerns that the publishers were seeking to introduce a micro-transaction service that allowed players to purchase skills and enhancements rather than earn them in-game. CCP Games have stressed that the items available for purchase on the Nobel Exchange are only cosmetic.

The recent Incarna update allowed players to leave their ships and walk about their quarters for the first time. The publishers plan to extend this feature to allow players to interact face-to-face in new space-station social areas that will be introduced over the next eighteen months.

To check out exactly how real Eve really is, take a look at the ‘I was There' trailer for Eve Online Incarna.