Legal Niches

FBI Investigates Second Life, But in a Good Way

By gamepolitics

The feds are coming to Second Life, but it's not a raid.

Virtual Worlds News reports that the FBI is establishing an SL presence for the purposes of recruiting, accepting crime complaints and publicizing wanted felons. The agency is describing its venture into the SL metaverse as a "pilot test."

Jonathan Cox, a management analyst who spearheaded the FBI's Second Life foray, commented:

Unlike 10 years ago, almost everyone today has had an experience connecting online through virtual media, whether through a gaming console or popular sites like Second Life. The ease at which information can be transferred, ideas can be exposed, and technology can be shared in virtual worlds will hopefully lead to the arrest of a fugitive or the location of a missing child in the near future.

In addition to SL, the FBI outlines it use of other forms of social media here.

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on May 20, 2009 (boomark / email).