AU commander hosts forum for local leaders Published Oct. 3, 2008 By Carl Bergquist Air University Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Lt. Gen. Allen Peck, Air University commander, hosted more than 50 River Region leaders at the Maxwell Officers Club Wednesday for the River Region Forum, a quarterly event that educates local civic leaders on security issues. This was his first forum as commander, and he was pleased by the turnout, he said. "I hope this will be a great opportunity for you to see what we do at Air University," he said. "The room we are in is the Daedalion Room. The Daedalions are a pilot's organization that was founded right here at Maxwell in 1934, and portraits of some of the true advocates of airpower adorn the walls of this room. So, this is a historic room and a historic day for us at Air University." Following a video on the history of Maxwell Air Force Base and Air University, General Peck introduced the forum's speaker. The topic was "virtual worlds," and George Stein, director of the Cyberspace and Information Operations Study Center at Air War College, spoke on a topic "those over 30 might find completely strange." "Your Air Force is aware of them," he said. "I call this 'Two-World Warfare,' and it may well have intelligence and influence potentials." Professor Stein said virtual worlds have roots in the internet chat rooms, which allow people to communicate in real-time over computer networks. "This was people playing in a virtual world, but all virtual worlds are alternative universes with alternative rules of behavior," Professor Stein said. "These worlds also require collective behavior, because it is not just you doing this. You are playing with many other people." He said many people are unaware that the gaming industry makes more money each year than Hollywood, and this area is becoming very big business. "There are more than 100,000 Chinese whose full-time job is to play the game 'World of Warcraft,' and when they find new techniques or secrets to playing the game, they make their money by selling that information on the internet," Professor Stein said. "Imagine more than 100,000 people making their living playing this game." The professor said more than 12 million people are involved in "Second Life," a free 3-D virtual world, and even Air University has "an island" on the site. The Air Force is currently exploring the possibilities of using Second Life for distance learning and other education purposes, but there are some problems. Professor Stein said, with any good technology, comes the possibility to use that technology for criminal purposes. Virtual worlds are no exception. "Money transfer can take place without anyone watching, and terrorists are probably using the virtual worlds for moving money around," he said. "Terrorists are also using the sites for training and recruitment, and the social networking sites are a real threat to our security." However, Professor Stein said there is a real possibility the United States can develop intelligence from these sites, and private sites are not as private as some people might believe. He said the Supreme Court has ruled that avatars are not real people, thus they are not governed by laws. "Since these avatars aren't real people, the courts can't have too much of a problem with us spying on them," he said. "The sites also offer long-term opportunities for covert influencing activities." The professor said another approach would be to monitor the sites and change, or even destroy, them. The fact that the Air Force is setting up its own version of Second Life called "My Base" is evidence that virtual world sites are relevant to what the service is doing. "The $100 laptop is going to spread this throughout the world," Professor Stein said. "Does what goes on in virtual worlds translate to the real world? In my opinion, we don't have an answer to that yet, but judging by what businesses and universities are doing, they say yes." Nataliya Boyko, originally from the Ukraine, represented Huntingdon College at the forum, and she felt the subject gave a good perspective of virtual worlds and addressed the security problems. "What interested me very much was the issue of privacy on the spaces, and how the law doesn't apply to cyberspace," she said. "As an individual, I expect the law to apply everywhere, and that is important to me and a real concern." James Dotherow, who represented Ballard Realty, enjoyed the presentation and said it was not just an Air Force issue but an issue for everyone. "I found it fascinating because it explored the cyber domain, and that is a real frontier for the Air Force," he said. "The recent cyber attack by the Soviets against Georgia is a prime example of how real this subject is. This forum raised a lot of questions that really needed to be raised." Following the forum, General Peck said Professor Stein provided some "interesting information and thought provoking stuff." "I find intriguing the whole notion of millions of people using these sites," he said. "We truly live in exponential times."