IN A SESSION HELD by US Legislators yesterday, the founder of the MMOG Second Life, along with about half a dozen avatars, tried to assuage fears that criminal shenanigans could possibly, maybe, by a very long stretch of the imagination, take place in the virtual world.

Philip Rosedale, the Second Life founder, was backed up by several in his testimony at the House of Representatives hearing on the matter of whether or not virtual worlds could police themselves. A large video screen in the room allowed for a peanut gallery of winged avatars and other bizarre looking on-line personas who were able to give their virtual two cents on the proceedings.

Suspicious and mistrustful legislators grilled the experts about what steps they were taking to prevent the virtual gamers (mainly consisting of spotty, socially awkward 14 year old boys) from committing real-world crimes like terrorism, money-laundering and exploitation of children.

Reports from certain British news sources (cough) about Islamic Jihadists using second life to nefariously recruit followers and plan terrorist attacks were cited as serious causes of concern.

Rosedale, probably much bemused by the melodramatic panic, reassured the committee that "We have never seen any evidence that there is any such activity going on". Despite the fact that Second Life characters can fly around their virtual world at will, there has, as of yet, not been any incidences of virtual suicide missions in which characters fly themselves into virtual buildings.

But terrorism wasn’t the only thing causing the panel serious concern; money laundering and other forms of financial mischief were just as bothersome. Second Life’s own currency, the Linden dollar, can apparently be converted to real U.S. dollars, making the game an active marketplace supporting millions of dollars in monthly transactions.

But both Rosedale’s physical being and avatar vehemently argued to the skeptical panel that the company monitors all financial transactions very carefully indeed and that the disgusting and evil habit of gambling was banned from the online game. On the video screen in the avatars solemnly nodded in agreement and their comments of “here, here” were displayed at the bottom of the screen.

L’Inq
Reuters

See also
Terrorists sought in Cyber Kingdoms