Angered over the US ban on internet gaming, several World Trade Organization (WTO) members are seeking compensation by placing a whopping US$ 100 billion fine on the US, saying that the internet ban is discriminatory against European gaming operators.

It should be noted that the US government excluded the gambling industry from the free trade agreement, after WTO ruled against the country's ban on online gambling operators from Antigua.

"The US decision is a major threat to a rules-based international trading system," Nao Matsukata, former policy planning director from the US Trade Representative office said. He continued that the internet gambling ban marred the US's credibility in the trade industry.

Will this mean that there will be a chance that US will lift the online gambling ban? Do stay tuned.

There's a remarkably impressive cell phone bill in Congress, and no, we don't mean that somebody in Congress just accumulated a cell phone bill that's enough to give someone more than a headache.

Senators Amy Klobuchar and Jay Rockefeller just revealed their proposed legislation, dubbed the Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act of 2007, that will greatly benefit cell phone users all over the US. Don't believe it? Read on to find out.

Distressed with Early Termination Fees? The two senators propose that the ETF be reduced to only half the amount after one year; this is especially useful for people who just have to cancel their service a few months or weeks before the end of their contract.

Klobuchar and Rockefeller also thought up of something very useful for consumers: a visual map of all network providers in a given area. This way, people will be able to make informed choices before signing a contract with a network provider.

As for Armed Service Personnel - those who frequently leave the their hometown or country and thus may have to shut down their subscriptions at inopportune moments - the two senators suggested that those who work in the military should be absolved of any cellular contracts once they receive orders to leave the country for a period of not less than three months or 90 days.

Such legislation certainly means less headaches for cellular phone users. Will the bill be implemented? Do check this space to find out.

Click on the Read link to read the summary of the entire bill!

 

The last time we updated you on Jack Thompson's latest exploits to keep violent games out of children's hands, we told you about the lawyer from Florida allegedly posting a comment on the GamePolitics website, stating that he'll be going after Take-Two once more in response of the critically-acclaimed FPS for the Xbox 360 and PC, Bioshock.

Now, it seems that he's taken action indeed, in the form of a written complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about the game's ads, televised during WWE Smackdown. His letter, verbatim and snipped for brevity:

Take-Two… is aggressively marketing its newest Mature-rated video game to kids under 17 years of age… On this Friday’s night’s 8 pm Eastern time airing of WWE’s wrestling program “Smackdown,” there were repeated ads for Take-Two/Rockstar Game’s Mature-rated, incredibly violent BioShock…

A check of the demographics of the audience of that program reveals that teens under 17 years of age watch that program in huge numbers…

Remarkably, the video game industry is running ads for games like BioShock on teen-intensive television programs while at the same time its industry-captured “watchdog,” the ESRB, is running a self-congratulatory ad campaign to assure parents that the video game ratings system is working and that the industry can be trusted not to target their kids with these Mature-rated games. It is all a lie, as the BioShock ads prove.

This rampant fraudulent trade practice is precisely what “Big Tobacco” did with its “Joe Camel” and other teen-targeting ads, while at the same time lying to Congress that it was not marketing its adult product to kids.

Comparing a game rated Mature to an addictive and life-threatening substance? Certainly strong words coming from Mr. Jack Thompson. Although it's true that some children under 17 do get to watch WWE Smackdown, it is to note that pro-wrestling shows are also more violent, with risky and life-threatening wrestling moves and bloodletting.

And let's not forget the edgier, sexually-themed angles that WWE has taken in the past, of course. With these, doesn't Bioshock fit into the major demographic that WWE itself is aiming for?

In any case, Mr. Jack Thompson has made his move. What will Take-Two's be? Only time will tell. Let us know what you think about this recent development by your comments.

With Apple's iPhone now out, the Internet rumor mill has turned its attention onto other smartphones. Today we have some interesting - and, please note, unconfirmed - rumors about LG's new Windows Mobile smartphone.

According to Arne Hess of The Unwired, the new LG smartphone is reportedly being readied for "a semi-exclusive cross-European launch in September". The phone will reportedly have Windows Mobile 6 Professional as well as UMTS.

Furthermore, HSDPA support remains unconfirmed along with the smartphone's supported GSM and UMTS bands. The LG Windows Mobile smartphone is also rumored to have Wi-Fi by default, but some carriers may choose not to activate it.

The design will be similar to the LG Prada and will be touchscreen-centric. The final phone will also reportedly not have the joystick or D-pad that the prototype seen at the 3GSM World Congress had.

 

A lot of folks get pretty touchy - borderline psychotic would be more apt actually - whenever it says April on the calendar. This is due to one of the many constants in the Game of Life: Taxes. Scott Sharkey of 1up decided to take some time to give a good hard look at how real-world taxation interacts with Blizzard's virtual and addictive World of Warcraft.

Sharkey notes that Taxable income includes everything from tangibles (cookies, and furnitures) to ephemeral and subjective (art pieces, concert tickets) things that you own. So by that logic, that level 70 character that you've been exploring, raiding, simulating, farming, pvp-ing the past year, that you own, isn't any more intangible than stocks. The question now is, should virtual property be taxed?

Sharkey notes that the nice part about this is that it's not our job to figure that one out. it's the problem of a certain congress">Joint Economic Committee in the US Congress. Thankfully former committee chairman Jim Saxton believes that teh internet and MMOs and all the stuff in that bag, represent an area where tech has outpaced law. He believes that messing around with it "would be a mistake." Not because it's morally wrong to do so, but because it would just be difficult on the government's part.

They could just tax hours spent playing, instead of virtual property owned, but then third-world, er, third-party leveling services sort of mess that up. Same character, not you playing. Yeah. Saxton was right. It's too mind-boggling to figure out.

The whole thing is a great read. If you feel like getting more of what Sharkey had to say feel free to head to his piece via our "read" link below.

As President of the ESRB, Patricia Vance said in an official statement that the ESRB appreciates that the Federal Trade Commission "recognizes the effectiveness of ESRB's self-regulatory activities." The report recently submitted by the FTC to Congress described in detail the marketing practices and compliance with retail regulations. She had this to say:

We’re pleased that today’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report affirms what other consumer research has previously shown to be true, namely that the overwhelming majority of parents are aware of the ratings, understand what they mean, agree with them, find them helpful and are actively using them to choose appropriate video games for their children.

Vance responded further, saying, "The report also details the significant improvement among retailers in enforcing their store policies with respect to the sale of M-rated games, which we support and applaud." The report reflected that the amount of M-rated games sold to gamers 17 and below were reduced, due to point-of-sale policing.

While the report did praise the game industry for having successfully reinstated a stricter compliance with the ratings system, the report did point out other areas where the industry could improve its content regulation, including online policing of content and broadening ratings coverage to mobile games.

Vance answered that call, stating that the ESRB will do their best to inform parents of the content ratings and how they can effectively be used to judge game content, in order for them to make more informed decisions on part of the game selection process.

 

An official report by the Federal Trade Commission to Congress showed that the video game industry has been able to reduce the amount of M-rated games sold to inappropriately aged gamers. In fact, since 2000, the amount of M-rated retail has been disallowed at the point-of-sale by a significant percentage, especially in major retail outlets.

This brings us to the other point of the ratings issue: the parents. As far as the report goes, it shows an increased amount of parents who are aware of the rating system established by the ESRB. 60% of them have agreed that the system does a good job of informing them about the violence in games, although 36% believe it doesn't do them any good at all.

What is consistent from the results of the report, however, is that parents are now more involved in the purchase of video games. As reported, 89% of surveyed parents and 83% of surveyed children have claimed that parents do involve themselves in a video game rental or purchase decision, while some 70% of parents have at least watched or played the most recent game purchased.

Conclusively, the report sees that the video game industry has done a good job with public announcements of ESRB ratings, compared with the music and movie industry. They recommend that the game industry, however, reconsiders the time and place to advertise their M-rated titles where audiences under 17 could be situated in, just as the movie and music industry continues to do.

While HR1531, better known as the Video Game Decency Act, is still going through review in Congress, Michigan Congressman Fred Upton declared that the bill was a way for the legislative body to restore parental faith on the ratings system currently used on games.

As the bill's sponsor, he explained that the bill was being reviewed to prevent developers and publishers from withholding questionable content from the ESRB. The bill is supposed to introduce a form of discipline for the game industry from bending around the rating system that parents have been unwilling to trust since the 2005 Hot Coffee scandal.

But what about the game industry's freedom? Rights activists and gamers alike were quick to question the motives of the bill - which is having to police even the game development process and the content that eventually get shipped to retail stores. Upton reassured the public that the bill was "written under the strict guidelines of the Constitution."

That aside, Upton believes that the FTC should be empowered with the ability to punish game developers and publishers who sneak age-inappropriate content past the ratings system. However, he seems to be partial to the Rockstar Games' claim of "it was the HaXorZ, we tell you!" In fact, he mentioned:

It is unfortunate that a few bad players have tarnished the integrity of the ratings system. The Federal Trade Commission currently does not have the tools necessary to pursue game makers who maliciously deceive consumers - this legislation will change that, and parents will be able to have faith in the ratings system once again.

Delaware Representative Helene Keeley comes into the gaming scene today, as we we pick up word of her introduction of a new bill to help curb the circulation of Mature-rated (M, age 17+) and Adult-Only (AO, age 18+) games to minors.

Going into detail, House Bill No. 77, once implemented as a law, will prohibit the sale or rental of any video game rated by the Electronic Software Rating Board (ESRB) unless the said rating is clearly displayed - games unrated by the ESRB will also be required to have a "not rated"  label visible on them.

The second provision "makes it unlawful for a person to sell or rent to an underage person and requires proof of age prior to sale or rental," which means anybody procuring their next copy of Grand Theft Auto will have to have a copy of their driver's license (or senior citizen's card) handy to prove their age - very much like the procedure being used for guys buying alcoholic beverages.

For those with longer memories among us, you may remember Rep. Keeley from back on November 3, 2005, when she attempted to pass House Bill No. 319, which also required games with an ESRB rating to be properly displayed, and a valid ID to be presented by buyers when purchasing M and AO-rated games.

Comparatively speaking, this appears to be one of the more level-headed laws we've seen under works - their stand on unrated titles is relatively tame compared to the provisions stated in a similar House Bill in New York. Once again, though, given that this only targets limiting games to minors, we're hoping that parents can step up to the challenge of becoming more aware of the sort of video games their kids are slipping into the console's disc tray. For the moment, we are worried about some vague points made by the bill - let's just hope it gets sharpened up to something more practical in the long run.

Score one for the home team, because there's at least one member of Congress on the side of responsible gaming. Through Game Politics, we found out that Generation: Gamerz got a reply on the issue of games in governmental legislation, sent to the House of Representatives by the Video Game Voter's Network, from Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin.

The letter, which you can see in greater detail on the right, definitely has the basic concepts behind gaming legislation down pat, but what really makes us smile is how he places parental responsibility as an important factor in buying games to begin with. Wrote Sensenbrenner:

I believe that parents have a responsibility to monitor the video games that their children play. Parents, not the government, are in the best position to educate children and restrict harmful material from them.

Definitely some good news right there. Of course, we can't all vote on him just for that one thing, but it's definitely a good thing to know.