Virtual reality spills into the REAL world - Virtual theft gets a teenager arrested [Pic]

It's starting the happen! Remember the movie Virtuosity (1995)? In the movie a virtual character takes on human form (as a result of advancements in nano-technology that allow an emulation of a human body to be created from Carbon particles in glass). The character goes around killing and wreaking havoc.

Well, it is happening in real life! No, there's no 'virtual' crazy guy roaming the streets killing people, but more and more frequently virtual crimes are starting have REAL WORLD consequences. [caption for the image to the right 'Hey, where's my stuff!?']

You see there is a difference between a REAL crime committed in cyberspace (e.g., hacking into a machine in order to steal data or change information), and a VIRTUAL crime committed in cyberspace (i.e., emulating a crime that isn't actuall taking place).

However, this bizarre story blurs those boundaries.... You see, the VIRTUAL furniture that was stolen was bought on the social networking site using REAL money...

Here's the story, tell me what you think:

A Dutch teenager has been arrested for allegedly stealing virtual furniture from "rooms" in Habbo Hotel, a 3D social networking website.

The 17-year-old is accused of stealing 4,000 euros (£2,840) worth of virtual furniture, bought with real money.

Five 15-year-olds have also been questioned by police, who were contacted by the website?s owners.

The six teenagers are suspected of moving the stolen furniture into their own Habbo rooms.

BBC NEWS | Technology | ?Virtual theft? leads to arrest ? Can't this sort of thing be resolved by virtual police?

Technorati tags: strange, virtual reality, cyber crime, theft,hacker