Why interesting? Well, the first is because it talks about evangelising/proselytising on MMORPGs (?!?), while the second talks about the Da Vinci Code... again 
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I read the first article in the Feb 2006 issue of Computer Gaming World (CGW). For you non-gaming communities (a.k.a. newbies, or "n00b" in leetspeak), MMORPG is an acronym for Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game. Once the term is expanded up, I think it's pretty self-explanatory. yeaps, MMORPG is the place where people spend insane amounts of time, energy and resources to have a "good time together".*** Since so many people spend so much of their existence in virtua-community, some people have taken up to spread their faith in these places.
(Read the article on http://cgw.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3146863 )
Is this a good thing? Personally, of course it's good - spreading the Gospel is always a good thing. I think making use of technology to spread the message and bring the Church to the masses is acceptable and amazing.
Is it being done in an acceptable fashion? Here's where the debate flies all over the place, with people screaming "Foul!". How to reconcile the fact that when you are killing your enemies on-screen in a game, yet be spreading the Message of Love? Or "How dare you intrude on my personal space on the Net?? And tell me stuff which I don't want to hear! I'll smite you with my +5 Staff of Osiris, thou Christian heathen!"****
In the end, all I can say is, if this be the will of God, that nothing on this earth will stop the advent of spreading our faith through this medium. However, if God is not with us in this, we can pour out all the resources into this and it will pass like the wind blowing over the desert.
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The second piece is in Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), Feb 2006 issue. (Read it at http://egm.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3147503&did=2 ) It's about "the Da Vinci Code" video game that's coming out on PS2 and XBox gaming console. Man, I'm just wary of what other merchandising that will come out of this book. A few ideas comes to mind:
1. "Mona Lisa" - portraits, mugs, T-shirts - think the Italians will be enjoying a boom over these. 
2. "I 
LEONARDO" T-shirts - yea, the "Titanic" diehard fans will be reaping their investments worth over these ... 
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*talk about milking the cash cow for all its worth. It's small wonder it's on the bestsellers' list, with all this furor and attention over it.
** For more info on n00b, goto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newbie , For more info on MMORPG, goto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mmorpg
*** whether this is good or not as another matter entirely. 
**** Purely imagination on my part. I don't know of any game that has a +5 Staff of Osiris. Serious.
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