Spies watch rise of virtual terrorists

THE bomb hit the ABC's headquarters, destroying everything except one digital transmission tower. The force of the blast left Aunty's site a cratered mess.

Just weeks before, a group of terrorists flew a helicopter into the Nissan building, creating an inferno that left two dead. Then a group of armed militants forced their way into an American Apparel clothing store and shot several customers before planting a bomb outside a Reebok store.

This terror campaign, which has been waged during the past six months, has left a trail of dead and injured, and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars' damage. The terrorists belong to a militant group bent on overthrowing the government. But they will never be arrested or charged for their crimes because they have committed them away from the reach of the world's law enforcement agencies, in the virtual world known as Second Life.

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Ghost Cities Of 2100

For 900 years, Moenjodaro, a city in what is now Pakistan, was the urban hub of a thriving civilization, the New York or London of its day. Around 1700 B.C., residents suddenly abandoned the Indus Valley city, and it was lost in the sands of time until archaeologists began excavating it in the 1920s.

Today, visitors can wander for hundreds of acres among its deserted streets and homes.

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Mapping Traffic Flow

New trafficking software will enable drivers to find the quickest route to their final destination.

Drivers are always searching for the fastest route--whether they are traveling home on a busy Friday afternoon or rushing to the airport for an early-morning flight. Now Tele Atlas, a Boston-based company that provides digital maps and navigational content, has integrated new trafficking software into its map database so that drivers can find the most optimal route based on speed rather than distance--for any stretch of road at any hour of any day of the week.

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Microsoft introduces their new "virtual reality"

A swimming robot — inside your body

The Boston Globe describes the efforts of a Japanese-born scientist to develop new technologies for use in surgery. His last project is to build a swimming robot designed to explore the human gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) from esophagus to colon.

This 2-centimeter long robot will have a swimming tail to deliver the energy picked from the outside and use it to steer it in the GI tract. It will also be able to send back images to the physicians and to deliver therapy. Coincidentally, the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting about another medical robot helper able to crawl like an inchworm into your heart.

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Ghost Recon 2 vs. Land Warrior: The Pentagon Goes Gaming

It's one of the most realistic videogame series ever. But how does the gear in Ghost Recon's newest incarnation, Advanced Warfighter 2, stack up to the real thing? Using our advanced look at the Army's new Land Warrior System for comparison, Popular Mechanics takes Tom Clancy to battle.

Virtual Gunfights

The mad scientists at the Office of Naval Research have just signed a contract to build two high-tech battle simulators for Marines to practice their lethal trade in a virtual environment.

Simulating Ship Supply

Canadian defense scientists will use simulation to try to improve how naval ships can be resupplied at sea.