pablo
23-12-2003, 20:25
A court in China has ordered an online computer games company to return virtual belongings to a player whose account was hacked and looted.
The Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing ruled last Thursday that the company must return the player's virtual stash because it had allowed the theft to take place in the first place.
Li Hongchen, 24, spent two years and more than 10,000 yuan ($1,210), amassing a cache of virtual money and weapons in the online game "Hongyue", or "Red Moon".
In February, however, Hongchen found his belongings had been pilfered by a hacker who gained access through the game's central servers. The software firm behind the game, Beijing Arctic Ice Technology Development, responded that his possessions had no real world value and represented only "piles of data". Hongchen took the company to court requesting 10,000 yuan in compensation.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994510 (http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994510)
I want my virtual girlfriend back....
The Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing ruled last Thursday that the company must return the player's virtual stash because it had allowed the theft to take place in the first place.
Li Hongchen, 24, spent two years and more than 10,000 yuan ($1,210), amassing a cache of virtual money and weapons in the online game "Hongyue", or "Red Moon".
In February, however, Hongchen found his belongings had been pilfered by a hacker who gained access through the game's central servers. The software firm behind the game, Beijing Arctic Ice Technology Development, responded that his possessions had no real world value and represented only "piles of data". Hongchen took the company to court requesting 10,000 yuan in compensation.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994510 (http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994510)
I want my virtual girlfriend back....