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A woman has been arrested in Japan for deleting her virtual husband from an online video game. Anchor Marco Werman finds out more from Ross Atherton, editor of PC Gamer Magazine in the UK.
(What is this woman accused of?) in response to this virtual injury, she went onto his account and destroyed his character. (What do the Japanese authorities have the biggest problem with?) she’s been arrested for going into his computer and accessing files, not for any act of virtual violence. (How common are virtual marriages in these games and how often do they end in divorce?) I don’t have any exact statistics, but they are heard of a lot. No one has ever proposed to me or anyone I know. These probably do end up in divorce more often than real marriages though, because they’re not taken too seriously. (The boundaries between real and virtual world aren’t too clear it seems.) I’d have to disagree with you. I think the vast majority understand the boundaries here. One of the problems is you’re dealing with other people, who can be rude or upset you. Most games are designed so people can’t do you any serious injury or offense. (Are you concerned about these kinds of crimes?) Not especially, this is a virtual game and the retaliation was virtual.