Jilted Japanese woman questioned by police after 'murdering' her virtual husband - Times Online

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Jilted Japanese woman questioned by police after 'murdering' her virtual husbandMore than 50 million people globally lead a virtual life in MapleStoryMore than 50 million people globally lead a virtual life in MapleStoryRichard Lloyd Parry in TokyoIt was a classic crime of passion: a bored husband walking out on his marriage, his spurned wife so enraged by the desertion that she was driven to kill him. The murder, in May, was swift and cold-blooded but justice is inexorable.The perpetrator, a piano teacher from the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, sits in police custody awaiting charges that could send her to jail for years.One thing sets this apart from the standard crime passionel, however: it happened in a virtual world to online characters in an interactive game. But the legal consequences for the “killer” are being played out in the real world.Police in Sapporo, northern Japan, were questioning the unnamed 43-year-old woman yesterday for logging on to the account of a fellow participant in the game and “killing” his avatar — or online character — after he had “divorced” hers.Related Links * Things I have learnt from my avatar * Dreaming up a Second L

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5008156.ece