A recent reminder for Second Life players to make wise choices in creating and protecting their passwords has some wondering if the game is experiencing a problem with hackers, spamers or glitches.

MMORPG.qj reported that Daniel Linden, Linden Lab's community affairs director, has suggested that residents of Second Life consider May "Strong Password Month." It seems Linden went on to strongly encourage people to change their passwords right away.

It does sound like a security breach or a suspected one prompted this, but in the gaming world, password security is always a concern. It can't hurt to play it safe.

In other Second Life news, Linden Labs is getting ready to test an age verification tool that will help ensure residents are 18 or older. Beta testing is set to begin soon and will require residents to input some form of ID to help esnure the population follows the age restriction requirements.

Boy, I wish that rule extended to MMORPGs like EQ and Vanguard!

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Labels: game security, linden labs, online games, second life

Electronic Arts has expanded its popular casual gaming platform, Pogo.com, in the UK and will also launch a German-language service in Europe.

Fans of mind-numbing, but wonderful, games can log on to the UK site here and the German site here to check out the single and multiplayer games EA has up. The free offerings range from puzzle and word games to casino and board.

Vice president and general manager of Pogo, Karen Schulman said in a media release,
“We are ecstatic to bring the Pogo experience and community to Europe. Whether you speak French, German or English, enjoying and relaxing with games is something that we universally share. Pogo players have created an incredibly tight knit community. We are excited to see Pogo grow past the borders of North America.”

In the U.S., Pogo.com draws in about 11 million gamers a month. The UK site sees about 3.2 million monthly since its launch.

It might not be Vanguard, City of Villains, or even EverQuest, but even I have to admit, Pogo is a fun distraction from everyday life and less casual gaming. I have to warn though, Word Whomp is addictive.

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Labels: casual gaming, ea, online games, pogo, pogo.com

Counter-Strike: Source players who use the Steam portal can now invite their friends to checkout the online game.

Steam recently announced the extension of the guest passes for CS:S players. A similar program has been in play for a while for Day of Defeat: Source players.

Gamers who invite friends to play will be giving them three days of free action without an obligation to purchase.

The guest pass and trial run trend is one that makes a whole lot of sense not only for gaming companies, but also gamers themselves. With games costing so much money and the choices for online play so extensive, taking a test drive when possible is just smart.

I can’t tell you how many discarded games we have hanging around the house that we bought, played for five minutes and decided they weren’t worth the time. If only every Xbox 360, Wii or PS3 game came with a free trial!

Gamers interested in learning more about Steam’s Guest Pass program or any games on Steam can check them out here.

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Labels: counter strike, counter strike source, online games, steam, valve