Information Week's Cary Doctorow muses in his lengthy article if it is indeed possible for a complete democracy to exist in MMOs. It's not just that namby-pamby "what the masses say goes in terms of game-rules" and what not, but a game where in-world property is really yours.

In his effort to highlight that difference - the difference between being a citizen in a world, and being a customer, Doctorow notes several in-world incidents in MMORPG worlds, and how people are treated as entities in the opposite end of a business deal instead of a citizen with rights and co-ownership of the a game world.

The Gay/Bi/Lesbian/Transgendered-friendly guild shut-down in World of Warcraft was noted, the "Dentara Rask pro-piracy anti-merchant EVE Online economy crash" was detailed, and most amusingly he notes that even Second Life isn't safe from this phenomenon. Yes, you can get rich in SL but, if you lose an argument with the company running Second Life, your Linden Dollars are gone. The only stable wealth in Second Life, is the wealth you take OUT of the game.

But would a democratic virtual world be the solution to the possibility of poor treatment from game owners? Doctorow thinks that while it can solve that problem he doesn't believe that it would be plausible. The reason? Running things yourselves, the responsibility, sort of takes out the FUN of it all, which is the point of getting into all these MMO worlds.

Personally, I'm thinking that maybe it's like communism: people have to go against human nature to make the utopian dream of a true democratic MMO work. But that's just me, and I'm just a nobody who's overdosed on caffeine.

Anyhow, Doctorow's piece, while lengthy is an awesome read, and if you feel like getting more detail about his musings, feel free to head to it via our "read" link below.

Have you ever thought of the possibility that MMORPGs could be used by terrorists to recruit and teach people how to blow up stuff? The Counterterrorism Blog ("The first multi-expert blog dedicated solely to counterterrorism issues") has. Here are a few snippets from an entry by Andrew Cochran.

Many of the overwhelmingly positive features of Second Life can be adapted for negative Real Life means. The rapid and potent way in which communication takes place would seem to be an ideal platform for recruitment into radical groups, especially given the age range of those engaged in the world, which is typically 18-34. The teaching capabilities of the world can clearly be adapted for use by terrorists.

You may be asking yourself (or your monitor, if you're one of those kinds of people), "How's it going to work, anyway?" Cochran has the answer.

Streaming video can be uploaded into Second Life and a scenario can easily be constructed whereby an experienced terrorist bomb-maker could demonstrate how to assemble bombs using his avatar to answer questions as he plays the video. Using the decentralized organization effect, already successfully used by SL companies, the bomb-maker and his pupils can be spread around the globe and using instant language translation tools (available in the world) could be speaking a variety of languages.

And that's not even the worst part.

...possibly by far the most useful tool currently available to radical groups is the ability to transfer in-world money between avatars that can be translated into real currency. The Second Life currency of Lindens (approximately $270L to $1US) can be bought using a credit card in one country and credited to one avatar (account) and can be given to a co-conspirator avatar in another country.

Please note that the article also mentions other MMORPGs, (World of Warcraft, for one), but Second Life is mainly used as an example because it is, in the author's words, the "purest version of a digital 3-D world."

The whole thing sounds a bit farfetched, but who knows? If the terrorists haven't thought about it yet, then they certainly know about it now. Click on the "via" link below for the full article on the Counterterrorism Blog.

  

Dan Miller is one cool dude. Read on, and find out why.

Business journalist H.S. Ayoub recently submitted to Internet Stock blog SeekingAlpha a write-up on his experiences in Linden Lab's Second Life. Obviously the fellow focused more on the business aspects of the metaverse. He covered the recent activities of Cisco Systems, IBM, American Apparel, and Toyota within the virtual world.

What's noteworthy though about his report is his input on government – to be specific, the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress - plans to start taxing transactions taking place within Second Life.  Ayoub takes time to note Dan Miller's view on the subject. Ayoub writes:

While the flurry of activity and monetary spending can attract the attention of businesses, it can also attract the government. The Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress is taking a hard look at the possibility of taxing income derived from virtual online worlds. But the general consensus is against any taxation at this time. The blogging community immediately condemned the committee's announcement last year, and Dan Miller, senior economist on the committee, agrees.

He believes that a realistic attempt at taxing virtual transactions could prove very difficult. It would place too much pressure on virtual administrators, such as Linden Lab, to keep tabs on the millions of transactions and player activities that occur every day. This, Miller believes, could slow down the impressive innovation taking place. It is not surprising to learn that the 64 year-old Miller is an avid World of Warcraft fan, and player!

Great, the great online businesses on Second Life, indirectly defended from taxation by a World of Warcraft player. The amazing teh internetz is. Amazing.

Sometime in the next few months, the Joint Economic Committee of Congress will publish the results of an ongoing investigation into the economies of World of Warcraft, Second Life, and other massively multiplayer online games.

What does this have to do with gamers? Well, this report could quite possibly determine whether or not the virtual gold that millions of online gamers earn and spend each day will incur real-world taxes.

A PC World article that we read today pegs the exchange rate for one gold piece in WoW at an unofficial rate of seven to the U.S. dollar. Second Life, on the other hand, actively encourages a real-world type of economy with an official market-driven rate of roughly 50 cents per 100 Linden dollars. Most game companies - and gamers - frown on buying gold from gold farmers, but when there's an easy way to get your hands on stuff, people will be sure to flock to it.

So if the report comes out on the side of the IRS and virtual loot is deemed to have real value since it can be sold for real money, will we be seeing the government concluding that every time a fallen virtual monster gives up its prize a taxable event has occurred? Click on the "read" link below to read the full story at PC World.