- In Greece, playing a shoot-'em-up video game could land
you in jail.
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- The Greek government has banned all electronic games
across the country, including those that run on home computers, on Game
Boy-style portable consoles, and on mobile phones. Thousands of tourists
in Greece are unknowingly facing heavy fines or long terms in prison for
owning mobile phones or portable video games.
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- Greek Law Number 3037, enacted at the end of July, explicitly
forbids electronic games with "electronic mechanisms and software"
from public and private places, and people have already been fined tens
of thousands of dollars for playing or owning games.
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- The law applies equally to visitors from abroad: "If
you know these things are banned, you should not bring them in," said
a commercial attaché at the Greek Embassy in London, who declined
to give her name.
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- Internet cafes will be allowed to continue to operate,
providing no games-playing takes place. If a customer is found to be running
any sort of game, including online chess, the cafe owner will be fined
and the place closed.
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- The Greek government introduced the law in an attempt
to prevent illegal gambling. According to a report in the Greek newspaper
Kathimerini, Greek police will be responsible for catching offenders, who
will face fines of 5,000 to 75,000 euros (about $4,980 to $74,650) and
imprisonment of one to 12 months. "The blanket ban was decided in
February after the government admitted it was incapable of distinguishing
innocuous video games from illegal gambling machines," the report
said.
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- The Greek gaming community has reacted with a mixture
of shock, disbelief and anger. One Web site, www.gameland.gr, has started
a news service about the ban and opened a petition to protest it. In addition,
it is posting English translations of the law and messages of support from
around the world.
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- A test case is to come before the Greek courts next week,
and the Greek gaming community is already planning protests in the event
that the defendant is convicted.
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- "We are trying to organize a protest against this
law," said Petros Tipis of Thessaloniki-based gaming company Reload
Entertainment, which has had to cancel a gaming tournament that was to
be held this week.
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- If the prosecution of the defendant next week is successful,
said Tipis, the Greek gaming industry will take the case to the European
Court.
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- In the meantime, Tipis told ZDNet UK, a lot of people
in Greece are very worried about the new law. "They are taking it
very seriously," he said. "It even affects the games that come
with Windows. This law isn't the right one," he added. "It is
unfair. It was introduced too quickly."
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- Reload's tournament, which was to be held Fridah, was
a qualifier for the CPL Oslo 2002 gaming tournament. "Now we are trying
not to lose the two slots we were given from CPL for the tournament,"
Tipis said. "This was the first time for a qualifier (for this tournament)
in Greece."
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- ZDNet UK's Rupert Goodwins and Matt Loney reported from
London.
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- http://news.com.com/2100-1040-956357.html?tag=fd_top
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