COMPUTER SOFTWARE

[The Age, November 27, 2006]

There's nothing real about Anshe Chung's real estate portfolio, but that hasn't stopped the virtual property magnate amassing a small fortune which she intends to turn into a much larger one. In just 32 months, Chinese language teacher Ailin Graef [insert in picture] has transformed an outlay of $US9.95 into virtual assets worth at least $US1 million in real money.

Graef has achieved this in a virtual world called Second Life where she is better known as Anshe Chung, the community's foremost property magnate. Anshe's Second Life portfolio includes virtual property assets equivalent to 36 sq km in size. But there's nothing real about this real estate. It's actually a 3D simulation housed on 550 networked computers.

And, believe it or not, there are people willing to pay sums ranging from $US100 to $US1000-plus to own a plot of land in Second Life. Taking a leaf out of the property developer's manual, Anshe buys large blocks of "land" which she improves, subdivides, and then either rents or sells the smaller plots.

Like real property developers, it's much better for the bottom line when there are a lot of people moving in to the neighbourhood. And that's exactly what's been happening in Second Life which is experiencing a population explosion of epic proportions.

This time last year there were 70,000 members. Today there are 1.6 million participants who have downloaded the free software and created online personas called avatars through which they interact inside this 3D community.

Anshe, who appeared on the cover of the influential US magazine BusinessWeek in May, is arguably the world's most famous avatar. Now she is also its richest. Over the weekend, she trumpeted her arrival in this exclusive club of one with a press release titled: "Anshe Chung Becomes First Virtual World Millionaire."

In addition to her real estate holdings, Anshe's fortune is made up of "cash", "shares", several "shopping malls," "chain stores" and "brands" -- every iota of it a sequence of binary files residing in a computer's memory.

In Second Life, the local currency known is known as Linden Dollars (named after the company that created the platform). The Linden Dollars is in effect a convertible curreny, making it possible for entrepreneurs like Anshe to turn virtual profits into real money. At the close of trading on Friday $US1 was worth $L274.5 (Linden Dollars).

Originally from China, Ailin Graef moved to Germany with her husband, Guntram Graef, in the mid-1990s where she took up a job teaching Chinese, English, and German. She joined Linden Lab's Second Life in Mach 2004, paying $US9.95 to purchase an account - a requirement that is no longer mandatory. Earlier this year, the Graef's branched out , opening an office in the Chinese city of Wuhan where 21 people are employed providing services and creating content for members and prospective members of the Second Life community.

Second Life, which is now run by San Francisco-based Linden Labs, was founded in 2003 by Philip Rosedale. It is technically a so-called massively multi-player online (MMO) game which can be played by any number of people from anywhere at the same time. However, it differs from many other games in this genre in that there is no objective or goal. In fact many of its players -- called residents -- merely use the platform to hang out, socialise and create, buy and sell virtual goods. Because the platform confers property rights, residents retain ownership of anything they create, buy or are given.

While Second Life's membership is much smaller than, for instance the World of Warcraft MMO game, it has developed a cult following. This has led to a rapid influx of corporate members, including retailers, hoteliers, car and computer companies which hope to influence the buying habits of the online puppeteers behind the avatars.

A number of real life performers have also appeared in Second Life. A few months ago, Suzanne Vega gave a small concert and last month, Ben Folds launched his new album inside the 3D world. Anshe Chung will hold a press conference inside Second Life shortly.

[Reuters, 2006]

Research presented at radiological society meeting links games to increased emotional arousal, decreased self-control in teens. Teens who play violent video games show increased activity in areas of the brain linked to emotional arousal and decreased responses in regions that govern self-control, a study presented at the Radiological Society of North America's annual meeting found.

The study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to record tiny metabolic changes in brain activity in 44 adolescents who were asked to perform a series of tasks after playing either a violent or nonviolent video game for 30 minutes.

The children, who had no history of behavior problems, ranged in age from 13 to 17. Half played a T-rated (for Teen) first-person shooter game called Medal of Honor: Frontline, involving military combat, while the other group played a nonviolent game called Need for Speed: Underground.

Those who played the video game containing violence showed more activation in the amygdala, which is involved in emotional arousal, and less activation in the prefrontal portions of the brain associated with control, focus and concentration than the teens who played the nonviolent game.

"Our study suggests that playing a certain type of violent video game may have different short-term effects on brain function than playing a nonviolent, but exciting, game," said Dr. Vincent Mathews, a professor of radiology at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis and the study's author.

After playing the games, the children completed tasks requiring concentration and processing of emotional stimuli while their brain activity was scanned. Alterations in brain function reflecting changes in blood flow appeared as brightly colored areas on the magnetic resonance images.

"What we showed is there is an increase in emotional arousal. The fight or flight response is activated after playing a violent video game," Mathews said. [The Radiological Society's 2006 meeting was held in Chicago.]

The $13 billion U.S. video game industry, with revenue rivaling Hollywood box office sales, is at the center of a cultural battle over violent content. Lawmakers' various attempts to ban the sale of violent video games to children have been blocked by courts in Louisiana, Illinois, California, Michigan and Minnesota.

Video games with a T rating are considered suitable for ages 13 and older. They may contain violent content, strong language or suggestive themes.

Numerous behavioral and cognitive studies have linked exposure to violent media and aggressive behavior. Now, researchers are using advanced imaging technology to scan the brain for clues to whether violent video games cause increases in aggression.

Mathews said he hopes to conduct additional studies on the long-term effects on brain function of exposure to violent video games.