Month: December 2009

• No chaos,
• no porn,
• no rude comments.
• No racial slurs,
• No sexist slurs.
• No bullying,
• No violence.
• Safe for children.

 

 

 

What could it be?  It’s the Japanese version of SecondLife: Meet-me.jp and it’s
a virtual Tokyo.  Why so calm and boring?  Well, we could say that the Japanese
people are better behaved than the westerners on SecondLife, or we could say that
the Japanese are much more conformists, they obediently “fall in line” with rules
and guidelines.  Take your pick.

 

Meet-me’s virtual world will have shopping centers, malls, clubs, and plenty of
other social centers and social events.

 

On meet-me, the avatars are more round-ish, sort of cuddly compared to the sharp
almost dangerous looking angles of the avatars on SecondLife.  The overall design
and functionality of meet-me will be totally controled by Transcosmos, the creating
firm.  It will also be strictly policed with profanity filtering and no guns
allowed, no gambling.  Basically, none of the stuff American love.

 

There will be no teletransportation, zapping avatars from one end to the other
on meet-me.  Avatars can walk, ride a train, or cab, just like in real life
Tokyo.

 

Good Luck meet-me.jp!

Zoe Garcia, 7 years old, of Johnstown, Colorado was under the babysitter
care of her half-sister and a boyfriend. The two teens were playing Mortal
Kombat and decided to practice some of the video games “moves”; punches
and kicks, on the little girl.  Huh?  Were these two teens retarded?

 

The little girl’s body was covered with bruises and there was swelling
of the brain.  Her teenage half-sister admitted to police that the violence
got out of hand and that the little girl “passed out” while she was
sitting on her.

 

Out of hand?

 

Apparently, the two teens had been drinking.  Of course, that’s not an
excuse. They are still 100% accountable for their actions.  The two teens
claim that they tried to revive Zoe by splashing water on her face, but
then called emergency services.

 

These two teens face up to 48 years in prison if convicted.

Not long ago the American Psychological Association reported that Mortal
Kombat can increase a person’s aggression.

The police training nowadays is obsolete, in that, they know nothing
about the internet, the World Wide Web, and the dozens of places where
likely criminals might hang out and commit a crime.

 

Child sexual abuse originating in online games and online virtual worlds
is rampant.  Passwords and other personal data are being stolen everyday.
Even money and valuable items are being stolen from inside virtual worlds
and the cops think “it’s nothing”, just a fantasy world; make believe.

 

So, what to do?  Retrain all our cops?  Possibly, but that will take
a lot of time and cost a lot of money.  Another route would be to recruit
new officer-trainees from the large pool of savvy internet users.

 

 

 
That’s exactly what the Vancouver Police Department is doing in Second
Life.  They will begin with a recruitment seminar.  The officers conducting
the seminar will create their own avatars complete with VPD uniform, badge,
belt and radio.

 

They are looking for tech-savvy, virtual world savvy candidates.

 

Good luck with that!

GCHQ, which stands for Government Communications Headquarters, is hiring!
Reportedly, GCHQ already employs over 5,000 people at it’s headwaters.

 

 

 

And it’s advertising in online games for young people with an interest
in Information Technology.  One of it’s first ads displayed in Tom Clancy’s
Splinter Cell: Double Agent.  However, it is definitely looking for
graduates, not teens, so keep on playing; maybe some day.

 

Organizing this recruitment effort is the recruitment firm TMP Worldwide
and Microsoft’s in-game ad agency Massive Inc.  If you are in UK, you
might see “Careers in British Intelligence” on your screen of your
Microsoft Xbox.

 

GCHQ has two websites online. One is for MI5, the domestic spy agency
and the other is for MI6 their foreign spying force.  GXHQ is quick to
dispel myths on those websites regarding their spying activities.  They
warn, it’s not like James Bond. It’s not like Hollywood.

 

If you think in-game advertising is overly aggressive, you should note
that GCHQ also has those “billboard” ads on the sides of buses and

poster,ads in lady’s changing rooms at gyms.

 

YIPE!  That’s a bit invasive!

 

A spy agency poster there while you’re pulling your panties up?