Nobody said marriage in an interactive game was easy. What do you do when your husband in "Maple Street" (similar to "Second Life") up and divorces you? Well, you are going to feel a whirlwind of emotions, and your fury and hurt might know no bounds. But of course, while you might contemplate murdering his avatar, would you go ahead and do it, thus taking a virtual life?
One woman in Japan answered yes to this. When her spouse in the game divorced her, she says "I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry." Murderously angry. She used the login and password she got from her hubby when they (virtually) married, and axed him. (She doesn't know the guy in real life.) She now faces a possible five years in prison and a fine of up to $5000 for manipulation of computer data and illegal access on a computer. Thank god they did not have any virtual children that I am aware of, because it's always worst for the child avatars.
I have an idea here. Maybe they should send her avatar to prison in the game, thus completing the cycle of wacky internet justice. She'd have to play out the rest of her online life in a small, virtual cell. Fitting, no?
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