Virtual people to get ID checks The faces and behaviour of
online avatars could help identify the people controlling them,
scientists believe. Using both characteristics, researchers hope
to develop techniques for checking whether the digital
characters are who they claim to be. Such information could be
used in situations where login details are not visible or for
law enforcement. Impersonation of avatars is expected to become
a growing problem as real life and cyberspace increasingly
merge.Signature moves Avatars are typically used to represent
players in online games such as World of Warcraft and in virtual
communities like Second Life. As their numbers grow, it will
become important to find ways to identify those we meet
regularly, according to Dr Roman Yampolskiy from the University
of Louisville. Working out if their controller is male or female
has an obvious commercial benefit, he said. But discovering that
the same person controlled different avatars in separate spaces
would be even more useful. "It'