Rep. Mark Kirk has called upon the Federal Trade Commission to issue an alert regarding what he says is a potential risk to children who play the popular online game Second Life. Here, GamePolitics reports on the continuing campaign against Second Life.
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Last week GamePolitics reported on virtual clashes between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama supporters which have been occurring within Second Life. Today they cover a news video report on how a Chicago attorney is using Second Life to support Obama.
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As the Pennsylvania primary draws closer, competition between Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is heating up - in Second Life. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Second Life's Obama and Clinton supporters have been waging serious (if unofficial) campaigns.
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Does Second Life show any signs of life in Japan? In late March, goo Research online polled 1,091 folks online about their knowledge of Second Life. Keep in mind: This is an internet poll, and it shouldn't be taken for anything other than that!
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The Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, chaired by Rep. Edward Markey, heard from executives of Linden Lab (publisher of Second Life), IBM and other firms. The meeting was simulcast within Second Life, a Congressional first, according to Markey. Yesterday's congressional visit to Second Life is chronicled by the Washington Post.
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According to a new report, Linden Labs' Philip Rosedale has announced he will be stepping down as the Second Life developer's CEO to become chairman of the board, seeking a replacement with "more operational and management expertise."
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Four-year-old Eddie might behave like a typical young boy. Outside of the Second Life virtual world, however, he is anything but.

The child is a product of logic-based artificial intelligence and complex modelling techniques, and operates on what has been said to be the most powerful university-based supercomputing system in the world.

A creation of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Eddie has his own set of beliefs, and the ability to reason about his beliefs to draw conclusions in a manner that matches human children his age.

This includes a partially-developed "Theory of Mind", which allows him to understand, predict and manipulate the behaviour of other agents and of even human players, with whom researchers expect the technology to be able to one day interact with in the real, physical world.
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Artist and professor Joseph DeLappe was last seen protesting the Iraq war - and infuriating other players - by typing the names of dead U.S. miltary personnel into the multiplayer chat window of America's Army. While DeLappe continues to visit the Army recruiting game as part of his Dead in Iraq war protest, he has turned to a new virtual project, recreating Gandhi's 1930 Salt March within Second Life.
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Soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have been paying their respects to fallen comrades in arms in an online military graveyard.

There are memorials to approximately 250 British servicemen killed in the two conflicts on Tribute Island, part of the virtual world Second Life.
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Given the popularity of Second Life, it was only a matter of time before the 3-D virtual world arrived on cell phones. Vollee, a company that has figured out how to stream PC games to mobile phones, announced that beta trials for its mobile version of the Second Life Grid platform will open in May 2008.

The Vollee Second Life service lets residents explore, interact and communicate online via their 3G enabled phone. Of course, the movement is done via the keypad after a logging in. Even new players can take a dip in Second Life via the same connection.
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A recent report by APACS, the UK's Association for Payment Clearing Services, found that plastic card payments had trebled since 1996, with card payments in retail exceeding cash payments for the first time in 2005. However, the increasing popularity of electronic money is not the only trend to watch; virtual money could soon become an important player in the field of payments too.
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Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is covering a Second Life banking scandal that could rival the sub-prime mortgage crisis for SL citizens. It seems some questionable banking schemes has led Linden Labs to shut down over a dozen virtual banks, causing a run on funds over the past few weeks. Makes us glad we kept our Linden Dollars under the virtual mattress.
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For those of who don't play Second Life, it may come as a surprise that the virtual world is still turning. But it is, and there's still drama going down over-you guessed it-money handling within the "game." Second Life operator Linden Lab is hoping to head off some of that drama by instituting a ban on virtual banks that aren't government-sanctioned in real life. The company said in a blog post this week that after reviewing resident complaints, in-world banking activities, and the law, the move is in the best interests of its users.
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G4 The Feed - Thursday, December 13, 2007:

Wannabe first-woman-president Hilary Clinton wants to know what games you're playing.

The plucky democrat has sponsored a research study for her run for president that includes a question about what games voters play.

Which of the following have you visited or played online?

¿ Sim City
¿ Second Life
¿ Sims
¿ None of the above
¿ Other
¿ Don't know

Strangely, any violent game and/or console title is left off the list... hmmm. Also, how could you "not know" what games you've played or visited?

The survey also probes internet usage.

Which activities do you do online most?

¿ Research issues or questions
¿ Use a webcam
¿ Share digital photos
¿ Download music or video
¿ Read or post to blogs
¿ Research products or services
¿ Watch video sites like YouTube
¿ Email
¿ Shop
¿ Read the news
¿ Play video games
¿ Instant message
¿ Online banking or bill pay
¿ Use online social networks
¿ Talk on the phone using VoIP
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Dean Takahashi of the San Jose Mercury News revealed that people can take advantage of a known QuickTime problem and become virtual pickpockets in Linden Lab's Second Life. Steve over at PlayNoEvil points out that "anything can that actually affect the integrity of the game or business application should be completely independent of these services to ensure that a breach in 'the other guy's stuff' doesn't affect the security of your business - especially casual applications and services that do not see themselves as having security functionality." Linden Lab confirmed the vulnerability, but the researchers who exploited the flaw were quick to note the issue can be resolved with a simple patch.

The hackers say the scene shows they can take complete control of any player's avatar and make that avatar surrender any money and other property in its account. That's a serious security breach because many of the 10.5 million registered members of Second Life are trying to make a living in the virtual world by selling goods and services.
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CNN has opened a virtual reporting hub in the world of Second Life. Below is from their report.

"So, what exactly is news in a virtual world?

CNN aims to find out by opening an I-Report hub in Second Life, a three-dimensional virtual world created entirely by its residents.

There, CNN will look to those most familiar with the virtual world -- the Second Life residents themselves -- to determine what constitutes news "in-world."

Developer Linden Labs opened Second Life to the public in 2003. According to its Web site, Second Life is inhabited by millions of "residents" from around the globe. However, traffic at any given time hovers around 40,000 users.

Just as CNN asks its real-life audience to submit I-Reports -- user-generated content submitted from cell phones, computers, cameras and other equipment for broadcast and online reports -- the network is encouraging residents of Second Life to share their own "SL I-Reports" about events occurring within the virtual world."
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The smoking ban has done terrible damage to rock stars who wield cigarettes as a stage prop. Now one leading artist has found a way to evade the prohibition by performing the first "virtual gig" for puffers.

Richard Hawley, the Mercury Prize-nominated rocker from Sheffield, is rarely seen without a packet of 20. "I insist on a fag wherever I'm playing," said the crooner, whose Lady's Bridge album hit the top ten.

So Hawley has been digitally recreated within the 3D environment of Second Life, the virtual, web-based world which operates its own currency, industry - and public health rules.

Hawley's fans, who created their own digital characters, or "avatars", gathered in Second Life for a live performance from the singer, whose movements were digitally captured while he strummed in a Manchester studio.
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Second Life was featured at the recent virtual job fair for Luxembourg, which included 45 countries. The First Virtual Job Fair - 'Working Worlds' recruits high-caliber candidates to take up skilled roles.
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Britain's Sky News TV channel on Tuesday uncovered a virtual playground hidden away behind a strip mall in "Second Life" - a playground where little girls who looked about 10 years old offered the Sky reporter's avatar, or virtual representative, a variety of sex acts.
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If someone swiped your SexGen Platinum Base Unit v4.01 (left) or your Classic DeVille Floor Lamp, you'd complain wouldn't you?

Hell, yeah¿

A half-dozen Second Life entrepreneurs have done a bit more than that, actually. They've filed suit in U.S. District Court against a New York Second Lifer who, they allege, stole their virtual item designs and resold them within the game.
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