Selectparks blogger Chris Dodds mails over to links to his special questionnaire on MMO surveillance, which "is being used to garner experiences and opinions of game administrators (and other players) monitoring game play", in games from Second Life to World Of WarCraft and beyond.

The intro explains: "Many players are unaware of surveillance being conducted by game administrators, often justified as a means to enhance game play and control cheating. Players within some MMOs are also tracking and recording other player’s movements, and conversely, creating methods to protect the privacy of their own digital personas. The rise of surveillance (and counter-surveillance) techniques and technologies within these virtual worlds is an extension of the pervasive monitoring of individuals in real-world environments. Many real-world technologies (such as bugging, video recording and location tracking) are being reproduced in virtual worlds and can be classified as a form simulated surveillance."

Before you get too scared, the three parts to the issue are: "Parents monitoring their children’s computer play... Game administrators monitoring players... Players monitoring each other." If you're convinced that the CIA is communicating to you through your virtual teeth, or if you're not, you'd better go take the survey now, eh?