Thanks Papercut for your very comprehensive reply.
However, I believe that it does not essentially answer the only question which I have posed, which is:
Why is RyanAir
apparently making a distinction between bookings made with Prepaid Master Cards, when they have announced that this method will be the only fee-free method available from here on?
Neteller market both the Net+ Chip and Pin Prepaid and the Net+ Virtual Prepaid as being virtually identical [excuse the pun

], see here:
Can you get a virtual counterpart? Does your issuer think to provide you specifically with a card that you can use for buying stuff online. Very few companies offer this because it’s new technology, but it’s definitely the safest way to buy online because virtual cards let you generate one-time use numbers that can never be used again. That means you’ll never lose your card number to a nefarious individual.
Ryanair detects the virtual card as that, but not the Net+ Chip & PIN prepaid card which is detected as a prepaid Mastercard on the Ryanair site, as has been pointed out by posters in the forum that you have linked to. Intending passengers merely choose Prepaid MasterCard option from the dropdown menu during the booking process.
But the Virtual Net+ Card
is a prepaid Master Card, is it not?
I know it is, as to get my Card, I had to go through all the hoops, which were not, in fairness, in any way over the top. Then I transferred money to my Neteller account, which is now available to spend on my Neteller
Prepaid Virtual Net+ Master Card. In other words, I
prepaid funds to my account with Neteller.
In fact, Neteller trumpet the added safety, security and other features of the Virtual Net+ in this Blog article .
Just looking at your quote below, RyanAir's announcement only mentions MasterCard Prepaid. This quote from RyanAir is used by Neteller to advertise their products, i.e. Chip and Pin Net+ Prepaid and Virtual Net+ Prepaid Master Cards. RyanAir's article makes no distinction as to which version is acceptable or necessary.
The only mention of dates I have seen is on the Ryanair site itself
http://www.ryanair.com/en/news/gen-en-301109
‘Ryanair, the world’s favourite airline, today (30th Nov 09) announced that it will accept the MasterCard Prepaid card as its free form of payment from 1st December and its Visa Electron promotion will end one month later on 31st December. From 1st January the Visa Electron payment card will attract a €5 administration charge while MasterCard Prepaid will become the sole free from of payment on www.ryanair.com.’
Yes – as I was never under any illusion regarding the fact that there is a difference between a Net+ virtual prepaid card & a Net+ Chip & PIN prepaid card, & I was well aware that I needed to use a Net+ Chip & PIN prepaid card in order to avoid Ryanair fees.
How did you form the opinion that there is a difference between both versions of Net+ Prepaid Master Cards?
And how were you "well aware" that you needed to use Chip and Pin Net+ Prepaid to avoid RyanAir fees?
Why do you use the term "I was never any illusion"?
Finally, just to say, I only make the above points because I have already got the Virtual Net+ Prepaid Master Card, and was under the impression that I could use it to purchase flights from RyanAir without payment of CC fees/admin charges.
This impression was formed by my reading of both Neteller and RyanAir's promotion of Prepaid Net+ Master Cards.
Either the Net+ Prepaid Master Card is a proper prepaid Master Card or it is not, in which case we have been mislead by both RyanAir and Neteller.
I do not require another Plastic Chip and Pin Card.