Virtual murder in Japan
An avatar in the Maple Story video game (Image: freetoplay.org)
It was apparently a crime of passion. The man and woman had never met in reality, but their avatars were married in the popular online game Maple Story. The woman is reported to have been angry after the man decided to divorce her avatar as part of the game.
She is now in real life prison, awaiting possible charges.
"The World" anchor Marco Werman finds out more from Ross Atherton, editor of "PC Gamer Magazine" in the UK.
Atherton says the woman has been arrested for illegally accessing the man’s computer files, and not for any act of virtual violence.
PRI’s "The World" is a one-hour, weekday radio news magazine offering a mix of news, features, interviews, and music from around the globe. "The World" is a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston.