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Virtual Divorce in Japan Provokes Virtual Murder ? and Very Real Criminal Charges

By Janet Langjahr

A Japanese man divorces his wife without warning.

The Wife is enraged - and kills him … sort of.

The marriage and divorce took place in a Korean video game which the Japanese man and woman both played in online.

The murder was virtual, of the character the man played online. The real woman, a piano teacher, logged in as the man and, using his identity, killed off his character.

So, it was all just a game … or was it?

Japanese authorities have arrested the woman - for illegally accessing a computer and manipulating data.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

A sobering reality.

Read more in this BBC [UK] news article: Woman in jail over virtual murder and this San Diego Tribune article: ‘Virtual murder’ in online game lands Japanese woman in jail.

Full post as published by Florida Divorce - Child Custody - Domestic Abuse Law on November 16, 2008 (boomark / email).