The U.S. Government is at it again. This time they’re going after the evil “casinos” within the virtual world of Second Life. These players are betting in the virtual currency of the Second Life world called “Linden Dollars”. The U.S. apparently thinks that this is a real threat to our security and this the crackdown has begun. If this weren’t a true story I think it would be a good humor piece for “the Onion“. As it is I find it sad and really discouraging. Is this really where we want our law enforcement dollars to be going? Where is Osama Bin Laden?

From the Inquirer:

Online gambling is illegal in the States, and the FBI had been running an investigation into Second Life to determine if it was breaking any laws, so it’s good to see that the war on terrorist funding has not been in vain. Obviously.

No word on whether this will appease the FBI or whether they will demand arrests of either Linden staff or gamers. But don’t expect Linden to stand up for your privacy if they come after you – Linden’s new Terms of Service states they will comply with all subpoenas from law enforcement to give away as much information about your as the Feds require.