When American and British spies were infiltrating virtual-world games like Second Life and World of Warcraft in a bid to detect real-world terrorists, U.S. intelligence warned that jihadists might create an Osama bin Laden avatar that could "preach and issue new fatwas for hundreds of years to come," according to a once-confidential report disclosed today.
The 126-page study, (.pdf) commissioned by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, provides fresh insight into intelligence the authorities had accumulated around the time their online game snooping started.
The disclosure of report, prepared in 2008, comes one month after classified documents released by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden disclosed that U.S. and British spies suspected the online games were a "target-rich communication network" that could provide terrorists "a way to hide in plain sight" and plan attacks.
"3D Cybersapce Spillover: Where Virtual Worlds Get Real," was released under a Freedom of Information Act request by the Federation of American Scientists, which published the document today on its website.
"Imagine that jihadist supporters create a detailed avatar of Usama bin Ladin and use his many voice recordings to animate the avatar for up-close virtual reality experiences that could be used to preach, convert, recruit, and propagate dogma to the media," the study states, using the spelling "Usama" widely used within the intelligence community. The report noted that those conclusions did not represent an endorsement by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the federal intelligence community.
"The Bin Ladin avatar could preach and issue new fatwas for hundreds of years to come, as the fidelity of his likeness would be entirely believable and animated in new ways to keep him current and fresh," the study added.
U.S. Navy SEALs killed Bin Laden in 2011 in Pakistan.
The report concluded "there is little evidence that militant Islamist and jihadist groups have begun extensively exploiting the opportunities presented by virtual worlds."
