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Second Life A Terrorists Training Ground?

This terror crusade, which has been going on over the last six months, has caused hundreds of thousands of dollars’ damage. The terrorists will never be arrested or charged for their crimes because they have committed them away from the reach of the world’s law enforcement agencies, in the virtual world known as Second Life.

Unless you live under a rock you already know what Second Life is all about, but just in case you don’t. Second Life is an online reality game. It was launched in 2003 by California-based Linden Labs but it did not come to prominence until last year, when corporations including Sony, IBM, Nissan and the ABC bought islands and began marketing to visitors.

On the darker side, there are also weapons armories in Second Life where people can get access to guns, including automatic weapons and AK47s. Once these terrorists groups take up residence in Second Life, it is easy to start spreading propaganda, recruiting and instructing like minds on how to start terrorist cells.

Apparently there are about five jihadi terrorists groups registered in Second Life and they use it for recruiting and training. This is on top of the Second Life Liberation Army, which has been responsible for some computer-coded atomic bombings of stores on the site. Just as real-life companies such as Toyota test their products in Second Life, so could terrorists construct virtual representations of targets they wish to attack.

Since the ability to transfer Second Life money between avatars, funds that can then be translated into real currency. Britain’s Fraud Advisory Panel has warned that Second Life players could launder money across national borders without restriction and with little risk of being detected. Criminal or terrorist gangs can also use the game to avoid surveillance while committing crimes including credit card fraud, identity theft, money laundering and tax evasion. The Second Life currency of Lindens (about $L270 to $US1) can be bought or sold using a credit card or online account in one country and credited to one avatar or account and can be given to a co-conspirator avatar in another country. This does not look good for future games and the virtual market of online goods since you can easily find a market for any items or gold you have received in from any online game.

(Just for verification I never got the whole second life crap and never will. This will be a first and last time I talk about Second Life.)

Tags: Featured, Gaming, Linden-Labs, PC News, Second-Life, second_life_liberation_army, terrorists, terrorist_cells, Video-Games

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