What's next - CSI for rodents?

Three-dimensional rendering technology is being used to map the cortex of a rat's brain, reports Good Morning Silicon Valley. IBM and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne are the principals of this project, whose purpose is to run simulations of the brain's molecules to not only understand how it works, but also model its behavior.

Music muffled in MMO games

Wired notes that in the virtual world of the online Star Wars games, you can do lots of activities possible in the real world except making your own music. The reason? Lawyers fear musicians who attempt to make music in the game's virtual cantina will play copyrighted tunes and open the way for music companies to file suit for violating publishing rights or demand a cut of the gaming revenue.

The far-reaching impact of videogames

The Christian Science Monitor's Gloria Goodale has written an incredible trend piece on where the videogame industy is going, and how videogames are impacting society.

Only three decades old, videogames are not only steering development of computer hardware, but are also "changing the way an entire generation sees itself in relation to the world, expanding popular storytelling beyond passive consumption to include involvement in the development and outcome of an experience," Goodale writes.

However, some say the industry is at a crossroads right now, which basically boils down to major studios' desire to make money versus the creative urges of a new generation of developers and users. The industry is driven by three major players -- Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo -- who want to roll out blockbusters based on safe, profitable genres. These companies are not interested in new game concepts, according to several people quoted in the article.

Goodale also notes the incredible potential of online communities built around games, which have already form trans-national and trans-cultural interactions.

There is lots of reaction to the CSM article on Slashdot.

Second Life to add Firefox browsing to VR worlds

We hear a lot about 3D worlds striving for realism, but the virtual world Second Life is adding an unexpected everyday activity, according to Clickable Culture: the ability to display Mozilla Firefox on the surface of 3D objects, and surf the web using the embedded browser display.

The article says the new version of Second Life will bring it up to speed with the Croquet project, and the addition of Firefox browsing will "radically expand the creative options currently available to users."

Slashdot has picked up the story and has lots of interesting reaction.