In both Japan and Holland, courts have come to decisions, imposing real life penalties on those who have committed crimes in virtual worlds.
In Japan, a woman who hacked into a man’s account and killed his avatar after he ended their virtual marriage in the role-playing game Maple Story, faces charges of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data. She hasn’t yet been charged, but if found guilty, it could result in five years in prison as well as a $5,000 fine.
A police official in the city of Sapporo quoted the woman as saying:
