A teenager has been arrested for stealing virtual furniture in a virtual hotel in a virtual world (Habbo). The furniture was paid for with real money, however. This is another step in the realisation of virtual reality. Earlier this year we heard of a real world intellectual property litigation over virtual businesses in a virtual world (Second Life).
Obviously a crime was committed and not a virtual crime, a real crime. And there should be recompense. But what is interesting is to see the expansion and increasing sophistication of virtual worlds because they provide an outlet for human creativity, ingenuity and socialisation that consumes very few real world resources. On a per user basis some energy is consumed to run the ICT hardware, but there’s no travelling to and from the shops in energy consuming vehicles, no industrial manufacturing to produce clothes, houses, and stuff that satisfies users. Perhaps these virtual world’s will engage our mind and attention enough that humanity can reduce its consumption footprint while expanding its intellectual stimulation …
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