A first for videogame safety

This is an online-safety risk that hasn't really hit parents' and policymakers' radar screens yet, but it's no less risky than social networking. In fact, it *is* social networking. Game players with Internet connections (such as Xbox Live) can voice-chat and text-message with strangers just as much as social networkers can, if not more, and have been doing so for some time. The online-safety first is that NCsoft Corp. - maker of the massively multiplayer online game City of Heroes - recently announced its "PlaySmart" program "to warn its customers about real-world risks in the virtual universe of its games," the Associated Press reports. Part of the progam is to put PlaySmart guidelines for parents in its games' packaging by the end of the year. Among the tips is "Parents should not only monitor and play the games with their children, but also should be aware of the potential for social interaction that can include voice chat and text-message exchanges." Another key one: don't share your username and password with friends. NCsoft says that kind of sharing is one of its biggest sources of customer complaints. Though physical safety isn't an issue, "accounts can be stolen outright or pilfered of virtual goods such as rare weapons or armor that the true owner spent months or years accumulating."