GCHQ, the Surveillance Arm of British Intelligence Infiltrates Video Gaming

You would have thought that online gaming couldn’t have gotten any weirder. Gold selling, virtual sex acted out through second life, and a whole host of fetishes await the avid gamer at the touch of a button. But now, in a continuing trend of in-game advertising, you are being recruited for spy work.

OK – maybe not, but the truth isn’t too far away. GCHQ, the center for Her Majesty's Government's Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) activities, has begun a month long campaign to provide ads for games such as "Splinter Cell", "Need for Speed Carbon" and "Enemy Territory: Quake Wars".

The Government Communications Headquarters is targeting those gamers who they believe are part of "an Internet-savvy generation of graduate groups."

In game advertising has risen over the past few years. From the unobtrusive occasional Coca Cola signage or the like, advertising space is becoming a premium. Ads sporting the words "Careers in British Intelligence" will soon become apparent in UK editions of the above mentioned games.

"The world of online gaming offers GCHQ a further route to target a captive audience," said Kate Clemens, Head of GCHQ's digital strategy at TMP Worldwide, GCHQ’s recruitment firm.

This is just part of new campaigns by MI5 and MI6 to employ a broader field of recruit. Gone are the misconceptions that assassinations and killings are part of the norm. Websites dispelling myths and ads appearing in female gyms are helping broaden the public’s knowledge.

"The idea is to make people think more broadly about MI5 as a potential employer," said an anonymous security official. "We need all kinds of people, not just those who look like they've stepped out an army officer academy."

The Microsoft-owned in-game ad agency Massive Inc. is also part of this deal, providing the in game advertising. Purchased by Microsoft last year, the New York based company sells virtual space to advertisers. And instead of past games where advertisings have been built in to the game, this new generation of advertising is streamed through the internet.

If you’ve ever wanted to locate a technological “canary” that isn’t the porn industry, then look no further than the advertising market. They’re always among the first to jump on a new idea. This time though, are spies part of the equation?

Posted by Josh Hill.

Story Link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21369495/print/1/displaymode/1098/
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