Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Virtual Arms Dealers Arrested
Legend of Mir 2, a popular online multiplayer game by Shanda, has seen an influx of advanced weapons. Wang Yihui, a former manager of Shanghai Shanda Network Development Co Ltd, and Tang Ming and Jin Ke, natives of Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province have been arrested for selling these advanced virtual weapons online. The charge? Copyright infringement.
(Legends of Mir 2 screenshot)
The supply of different weapons and other objects in online games is very carefully controlled. Only players who have advanced and earned the necessary skills are entitled to these things. Wang was in charge of the game database that controls Legend of Mir 2, providing the two other men with excess weapons. Tang and Jin sold the weapons to other game players.
These weapons can be legally traded for in the game; unskilled players can become more competitive immediately. Unskilled players are willing to pay other players within the game for advanced weapons. According to prosecutors, the three men have earned more than two million yuan ($250,000) by this practice of "virtual gun-running."
"Because top-grade game weapons are very rare and precious for devoted players, they are valuable in the virtual world. We decided to make use of my position to produce a group of the weapons to get money," Wang told the court.
The company noticed the problem when it discovered that far too many advanced weapons were circulating in the game.
For more news in the virtual realm, take a look at
- VirtuSphere Immersive Virtual Reality
This human-sized hamster ball is a key enabling technology for a working Star Trek holodeck. - Virtual Girlfriends Updated
Tomb Raider Lara Croft and V-Girl Vivienne, much loved personality-constructs, have received updates. - Nomad Virtual-Cockpit Helmet-Mounted Display
Commanders in the field need better situational awareness.
Read more about the virtual weapons theft here.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/6/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Computer ")
Great. Now AIs Have Access To Hacking Tools
'... when you and the Flatline punch through that ice and scramble the cores.' - William Gibson, 1984.
Tongue-Controlled Tong Wearable Mouth Computer
'Griff found the white and pink map distracting and switched it off using his tongue mouse.' - Greg Bear, 2007.
Interpol Launches Metaverse For Law Enforcement
'CopSpace sheds some light on matters, of course. Blink and it descends in its full glory.' - Charles Stress, 2007.
AVATECT Prevents Spoofing Of Avatars
'Your physical appearance is a graphical encryption that the human mind is uniquely qualified to decode.' - Daniel Suarez, 2009.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Wearable Energy Harvester
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'
Drones Participate In Buddhist Rites
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'
Anna Indiana AI Singer-Songwriter
'She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents'
Video Manicuring ala Schismatrix
'The program raced up the screen one scan line at a time'
'Feel the AGI' OpenAI Leader Now OpenWorship
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'
NASA Tests Prototype Europa Lander
Why have legs if they don't walk around?
Tailsitter Drone Aircraft For SAR
'...it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair.'
Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'
Mika The Robot-Boss
'the robot-boss was busy at the lip of the new lode instructing and egging the men on to greater speed...'
Yamaha Motoroid 2 No Handlebars Self-Balancing Motorcycle
'He rode the bike with an intense lack of physical grace...'
San Francisco Autobus
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street...'
Should Your Car Decide If You Can Drive?
'Okay. Maybe the car was right...'
Lucid Dreams On Demand From Prophetic and Card79
'the peeper did not operate by virtue of its machinery alone, but by the reaction of the brain and the body of its user...'
Honda UNI-ONE Hands-Free Wheelchair Follows 100 Year-Old Design
'Noiselessly, on rubber-tired wheels, they journeyed...'
EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer
'McKie held a chalf-memory stick over the dusted surface.'
Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin
'...tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
