...online spaces like World of Warcraft are making some spooks, generals and Congressmen extremely nervous. They imagine terrorists rehearsing attacks in these worlds, just like the U.S. military trains with commercial shoot-em-up games. They worry that the massively multiplayer games make it incredibly easy to gather plotters from around the world. But, mostly, virtual worlds are nerve-wracking to spies because they're so hard to monitor. The accounts are pseudonymous. The access is global. The jargon is thick. And most of the spy agencies' employees aren't exactly level-70 shamans.

Wired covered a presentation at a Washington conference in which a professor detailed a possible terrorist scenario to nuke the White House, coordinated through World of Warcraft.

Two World of Warcraft players discuss a raid on the "White Keep" inside the "Stonetalon Mountains." The major objective is to set off a "Dragon Fire spell" inside, and make off with "110 Gold and 234 Silver" in treasure. "No one will dance there for a hundred years after this spell is cast," one player, "war_monger," crows.

The gold and silver figures are map coordinates. I'm sure you can figure the rest out yourself. The CIA should hire you.

The whole enterprise seems a bit silly, but as MMOs become an increasingly popular -- and global -- phenomenon, it seems there will be guys sitting in windowless offices in Langley playing World of Warcraft. Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen. Some of them probably shunted over to Chinese gold farmers so the CIA can requisition epic mounts. Ain't that just like the US government?

Thanks to dingus for finding this on The Huffington Post, of all places!