Read this conversation setting fromWorld of Warcraft, and see if you can spot what's terribly, terribly wrong with it. It's supposedly two gamers talking about an attack on the White Keep in the Stonetalon Mountains.

Seriously though. This setting was presented at the Director of National Intelligence Open Source Conference, to demonstrate how terrorists can take advantage of MMORPGRPGs as a meeting site for plotting out attacks.

Think about it: these are virtual worlds full of citizens from all over the globe, essentially hard to keep track of. Accounts are naturally pseudonyms, and secret codes can easily hide behind the already jargon-thick language of the MMORPG. If terrorists chose to use these virtual worlds as meeting grounds, they can easily blend into the crowd, even if they're talking about terrorist plans, since they sound like they're just talking about raids.

It may seem ridiculous - especially with how Jack Thompson kept on raving about how video games are murder simulators, and the thought that the level-70 shaman might actually be a terrorist - but it's possible. Don't let your imagination get the better of you though. It may be possible, but is it probable? Says Steven Aftergood, analyst who's been following the intelligence community for years:

This concern is out there. But it has to be viewed in context. It's the job of intelligence agencies to anticipate threats and counter them. [...] Could terrorists use Second Life? Sure, they can use anything. But is it a significant augmentation? That's not obvious. It's a setting that an intelligence officer is duty-bound to consider. That's all.

• Real-life terrorism in MMORPGRPGs?
• ABC's island in Second Life obliterated
• Second Life terrorist reveals his secret - the Invisible Teleporting Grenades of Death

Comments

• Patch 1.7 goes live
• Paul Sage steps down as head designer, welcome Tom Potter
• The Bristol Comic Expo
• NCSoft prize for the Tabula Cast Haiku Competition

Comments