by Tomer Benito 

A recent chat I had with my 13 year old nephew was anything but sane. He called it I.M.ing. I called it IMpossible so I turned off the computer, picked up the phone, and called his father-my brother. I didn't know whether to complain or just point out that the future generation simply can't speak English. My brother's situation was even worse.

"I am technology oriented," protested my 38 year old engineer brother, "yet I can't communicate with my own kids. They transmit and receive on a totally different wavelength. I hold advanced degrees in engineering and buy toys for them I can't seem to assemble. They figure out in seconds what to do. I tried playing computer games with my kids in order to spend quality time with them. They complained I just slow them down."

Does this sound familiar? It's no secret the next generation is quicker and much more technology adaptive. It's even less a secret future forecasts point to a totally digital environment, with a few electronic circuits added here and there.

My nephew still can't believe that 20 years ago there was no internet to wire us up to the entire world.  "So how did you communicate?" he asked skeptically

"That's exactly what I'm trying to teach you!" I replied.

One comment my brother made about computer games caught my attention: "These games are so violent. In one game, the objective is to shoot people on the street, and you get points for your performance. A head shot counts more than a body shot." An educating game!

Is it surprising then, that kids are going on bloodshed rampages in real environments. These kids believe that they've just entered a different level of the game. When ‘game over' extends into reality, it takes them by surprise.

These types of games prepare kids about ways to make clean head shots. They train on that because they get more points for this kind of target. They don't think about suicide bombers and the viability of putting them down without detonating the explosive vests they wear. They don't even know what ACLU is or why they shouldn't aim to kill. They probably master the head shot more efficiently than the average police officer because they learn about it without the consequences such an act might entail.

That leads me to a much more alarming reality. Bad guys use computers to train for everything from terrorist propaganda to actual execution techniques. We already know the World Wide Web is a great source to gather information about almost anything (from targets to information about security technology, and even cookbooks for preparing explosive devices). We also know that programs such as Google Earth Pro are useful for remote surveillance. We even know that the internet is a money maker, sometimes for malicious purposes. Now we realize how the Internet can prepare people to become terrorists, from A-Z, including checking the impact of their acts on society-through virtual environments. 

One such environment is called Second Life (abbreviated SL). It is a virtual reality community where you can create an identity, meet people, buy land, and build your own objects. It is a "massively multiplayer online role playing game" (MMORPG), but one that offers users total freedom to create and interact as if they were living another life.

Launched in 2003 by Philip Linden, first-time users create a name (they can make up the first, but a surname must be chosen from a list) and a graphic identity (an avatar). The name cannot be changed, but you can use a different avatar. The Second Life world is a group of islands in the tropics. Using the keyboard, one can move around at will and even fly over them. You can also instantly teleport from one location to another.

So far, it sounds like fun and suggests that each one of the six million users can fulfill his or her most secret fantasies virtually. What can be wrong with this medium? It became a real society with politics, trends, and commercial agenda. The ballyhoo surrounding this online community led manufacturers such as Toyota, Rebook, and Nissan to establish beachheads on Second Life to interact with consumers and to be a part of the next wave in social networking.

What are the downsides then? Last month, a few key installations at Second Life's near perfect world were bombed by unknown users. Since you can build and assemble almost anything at this platform, there were users who built harmful objects in order to create instability among the peaceful residents of this virtual community. Just as it is in real life, the attacks were effective and created the predictable restless unease. One of the larger name producers with a facility at SL, a car manufacturer, decided to look for a different place to advertise its products.

Another growing concern about SL is money laundering. There is a need to buy virtual money called Linden Dollars with real money (this Philip Linden is a genius!). Linden Lab reports that the Second Life economy generated $3,596,674 (U.S. dollars) in economic activity during the month of September 2005 and has grown ever since. Users can pay other users for virtual services. This convenience means that a client in the U.S. can buy a virtual agenda from a client in Iran, for example. Money transfers aren't tracked, but perhaps they should be.

One government concern is that capital generated in SL should be taxed. The implications of this virtual world seem to be slipping through decision makers' hands. The bad guys already have their agendas, ideas, information needed for each and almost any target they choose, and now they also have a platform to train and be prepared to do something really appalling when the time comes.

In order to proceed one step beyond and minimize the criminals' advantage to surprise us when they would like, we should stay on top of technological gadgets, virtual worlds, and any new trends entering our lives. The only way to perform this task adequately is to assimilate the role of the bad guys and view the whole continuum through their eyes. That's how we can evaluate volatile information and security technology provided freely through open sources, information which clearly won't deter bad guys one iota from their destructive goals.  Playing violent computer games such as the one mentioned above, although entertaining to many, could be an introduction to training young minds to act out something bad, really bad.   Game over.

If you want quality time with your kids, ask them to show you the latest in computer games. You can also join our Bicoastal CT Summit and learn the approach to deter aggression from the inside out. For more information about this event, visit www.thehalocorp.com/aod and check out the brochure.