Okay, this may cause some alarmists to scream "Big Brother!" so before all the speculation, here are the known details - just so all you privacy advocates can relax a bit.

Google has filed a patent that reveals that they plan to compile psychological profiles of millions of gamers by covertly monitoring the way they play online games. Now you may think that this only concerns folks who play MMOs on their PCs, however, the patent apparently says that Google can also monitor people playing on any game console that hooks up to the internet, including the Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft Xbox 360.

What's even more hair-raising is that it says that information could be retrieved from previous game details saved on memory cards. To quote: "Such saved information may be thought of state information, and offers a valuable source of information to the advertisers." Yes, if you've played 350 hours of Oblivion, they'll know. Yep, the patent is that creepy; it even says:

In a car racing game, after a user crashes his Honda Civic, an announcer could be used to advertise by saying 'if he had a Hummer, he would have gotten the better of that altercation', etc... If the user has been playing for over two hours continuously, the system may display ads for Pizza Hut, Coke, coffee.

Now here's why we're asking all those privacy advocates to calm down and not cry foul. Google has said that they do not plan to roll out the technology in the near future. They say that it was just one of the patents that they wanted to file. The Guardian reports that a Google spokesman had this to say: "Google registers different patents irrespective of whether we actually intend to use them."

So no, Big Brother, er, I mean, Google isn't watching you. Not yet. *insert cheesy B-movie sci-fi music* It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you.

Following the trend wherein real-life establishments and events are starting to bleed into the virtual world, things get slightly more fantastic as Azeroth denizens will be taken on for the ride on the bandwagon come December 1. The first in-game press conference will be held on said date.

Called for by Socialtext, the details of the WoW press con are as follow:

Time: December 1st, 5 p.m. server time
Location: Goldshire, Elwynn Forrest, Eitrigg Server

Rules of Order:

• No ninjas.
• Questions will only be taken from journalists in PvP mode.
  
• We have developed means of determining if you are a Chinese Gold Farmer, so do not outsource your participation.
• Safe passage will be provided to Horde characters, but your questions may be lost in translation.
• Keep your armor on, do not /dance unless you are an orc, use of other emotes are encouraged.
• If the spokesperson is not forthcoming, you may duel for information.
• Those that survive the experience will gain 1 gold piece and a Socialtext tabard.

So, now that someone has got the ball rolling, will there be chances for a an episode of Big Brother: WoW edition?

The virtual world of Linden Lab's Second Life is indeed getting a lot of attention, not only from those people who wish to escape life's mundane happenings, but they are also catching the eye of big time companies. Endemol's Big Brother is already housed in the game, Reuters is in, and so are Sony, IBM, and GM. And now Dell has tossed its hat into the Second Life craze. Here are some screenshots of Dell's Second Life taken before the start of the company's press conference announcing its entry to the virtual world.

Dell Island visitors can even past the time away in one of the island's drafting tables to configure their XPS 1710 notebooks, which your avatars can buy and use in the virtual world; that made us wonder if Dell's battery exploding saga will be given room in the virtual world. In the future, Dell wants to let residents purchase real PCs that they could use in real life.

We give our props to Badam for sending this tip in. Thanks a lot!

   

Linden Labs' hip MMO, Second Life, sure is blurring the lines between virtual reality and well, reality itself, as the game continues to incorporate features that mimic how we go about with our daily lives.

Can't get enough of reality TV? Join Big Brother, and go down in history as one of the residents of the first virtual Big Brother. Itching to know the latest gossip? Grab a copy of the tabloid "SL News". Want to lounge around and channel surf? Go right ahead (heck, they even have price hikes!).

You see, a company called Rivers Run Red is teaming with other companies to provide TV channels (like Channel 4 and the Sci-Fi Channel, probably even user-generated content) for your virtual TV.

Our source says that Rivers Run Red is aiming for about a hundred or so channels for Second Life: just enough for your daily dose of virtual TV. The good news is, you can try it out for free during launch, but pay per views or ads can be expected later on.

We reported a few days ago that Big Brother just landed in Second Life's virtual reality world and is set to recreate the series we have all learned to love watching. As always, Linden Lab is more than happy to accept the newcomer as this just adds up to its list of high profile residents like Sony, IBM and General Motors to name a few.

Anyway, we all know what goes on inside the house. Sometimes it's boring, at times interesting and during some other circumstances, things get a bit controversial and showbiz-like. It is in this light that the publisher of Germany's top-selling newspaper, Bild, is planning to launch the parallel universe's first tabloid ever, SL News.

Axel Springer, the above mentioned newspaper man, stated that it's going to be a weekly paper designed to satisfy the virtual population's appetite for news and gossip. "It will be a colourful tabloid, with snippets about show business and human interest tales from the avatar world," added Bild spokesperson Dirk Meyer-Bosse.

Furthermore, Springer detailed on his plans for SL News. Accordingly, it's to be launched this coming December, with a price tag of 10 to 15 Linden dollars. After the construction of an online editorial office, a real editor-in-chief will then recruit a team of roving reporters from among the avatar community.

Endemol's popular reality show">Big Brother">Endemol's popular reality show">Big Brother is watching, and this time around, his eye's turned toward Linden Labs' virtual world, Second Life. Being the latest addition to the list of real-life establishments who are expanding onto digital territory, Endemol's Big Brother series will be recreated in Second Life.

Same rules apply: contestants will be placed in a communal house and will be monitored 24/7 via cameras scattered around the house. Nobody would be allowed to leave the premises, and everyone must participate in any challenge or task which Big Brother assigns. A participant is "evicted" from the house regularly and the last man or woman standing is declared the winner.

If in real life, the prize includes loads of cash and cars or houses, the grand prize for the winner of the Second Life edition of this series would be an island under his or her name - virtual property worth around US$ 1,675.

The series begins on December 1, so if you're up to the challenge, then start signing up.

According to Next Generation, the Nielsen Media Research will announce plans to add videogame metrics to its line-up of entertainment offerings sometime in mid-2007.

The service, named Nielsen Gameplay Metrics, will establish new metrics for the buying and selling of advertising in videogames. The data from the service will be provided to subscribers on a weekly basis and will show gamers' activities across other media platforms like TV and the Internet. Why does George Orwell's 1984 come to mind?

Anyway, the service is set to provide advertisers, agencies, hardware manufacturers, and game developers demographic data for negotiating for in-game and around-game advertising. It's reported that the new data will allow the videogame industry to develop an "advertising business model" to offset the steep development costs of new titles for next-generation consoles.

Now the around-game advertising we can handle. We really like the Coca-cola advert that was GTA based. We also like all product ads that use WoW characters. It's just that we can't seem to wrap our heads around the possibility of seeing Ryu Hayabusa (in the game mind you, not on a TV ad) chug down a Pepsi before he (luckily) gets to fight those scantily clad Ninjas.

Now more on the creepy 1984-ness of all of this. They say that the metrics will give advertisers a greater level of precision for targeting the digital consumer. The companies will get access to comprehensive analysis on how video game play affects or complements the use of other electronic media. For example, the data will show what television programs gamers watch when they're not playing games.

It just feels wrong for all the wrong reasons. We know that this has been common practice already for TV land, but for gaming? Isn't it already obvious what shows and genres and things gamers really like? It's like having someone with the omniscience of Big Brother watch hamsters turn a hamster wheel.

Anyway, as weirded out about this as some of us here in QJ are, we can see the good things that can come from this development. For one thing we'll see more media that's tailor made for us gamers. That's always a good thing right?

Traditionally, one of the highest values in the U.S. - especially out West - was respect for privacy. What went on in someone's home, what or who they were before - as long as it didn't violate our personal rights or threatened our safety, it wasn't our concern. Believe it or not, U.S. Americans actually prided themselves on this philosophy - once upon a time...

Now, THEY are watching YOU, anywhere and everywhere - yes, even in the virtual world of MMORPGs.

Most players don't realize that game administrators watch their every move - ostensibly, to enhance game play and control cheating (yeah, right).  Players often monitor each other, justifying it in the name of "protecting" their own digital personas. And, of course, parents who monitor their children's online activity (which - in the case of young children and teens - is their legal right and responsibility, especially in social-networking environments where, sadly, predators abound).

While game administrators'  monitoring does help to keep the game honest by preventing cheating and player on player harassment, , one should know that data is being "mined" - and is being stored, probably permanently. Also know that when players use unauthorized software to spy on other players, they risk being banned - as well they should.

The challenge for us as a society is to use our new tools wisely, and seek a middle ground that balances the good of the many with the rights of the individual.

In the meantime, Christopher Dodds of the School of Creative Media at RMIT University is doing some research on this issue. What's YOUR feeling on in-game monitoring? How much does it impact the game? Read on to check out the survey and give your insight on the matter!.