Users of Google's new massive database of satellite imagery are finding some surprises in the images such as street parades in California and bombs in Iraq. This development points to the growing relevance and power of satellite imagery but it also shows the promise of posting massive databases online and letting thousands of users sift through to find what they are interested in.
The buying and selling of virtual currencies, weapons and other goods from massively multiplayer online games like EverQuest and Ultima Online may be off most people's radar, but it is truly big business.
A new website, The Gaming Open Market, serves as a currency exchange of sorts for virtual economies in multiplayer games. Players can speculate on currencies from popular online games -- including Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, Second Life, The Sims Online, There and others -- buy and sell currencies in US dollars, and even trade across games.
As computer games and virtual spaces become more pervasive, the line between real and imagined becomes blurrier. When do real-world laws start to apply? Experts hit New York to discuss the growing impact of games.