Dutch teenagers get convicted for "virtual theft"

23 October 2008 19:37 GMT / By Verity Burns

Two teenagers from Holland have been convicted of stealing virtual items in the children's MMO, RuneScape.

Yes, its seems gone are the days where bullies would steal your lunch money - the 14 and 15-year-old culprits instead pressured a 13-year-old boy into transferring a "virtual amulet and a virtual mask" to their RuneScape accounts.

Papers from the area are reporting the teenagers beat up and kicked their victim, as well as threatened him with a knife.

The pair were convicted to 360 hours of community service between them, with the court saying in its ruling: "These virtual goods are goods (under Dutch law), so this is theft."

This is the first time that a case of virtual theft has gone to final ruling in Holland, because - as you may imagine - police very often refuse to take them seriously.

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