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Byline: Cynthia L. Webb

Online gaming is an intense, competitive hobby -- or lifestyle -- for many Internet users. So much so that gamers await the newest releases of games by trading development secrets online and pre-release reviews on message boards. An example of just how serious gaming has become: BBC News Online reports that one full-time gamer is plunking down serious cash to insure his fingers. According to the report, the gamer paid 375,000 pounds, or roughly $584,000, for the special insurance. "Qualifying for the World Cyber Games has led me to investigate ways to protect my key assets -- my fingers," British gamer Alex Nikitin told the news outlet. * BBC Online: Gamer Insures Fingers for pound sterling$375,000 (2nd item)

No insurance needed for the online game " America's Army ," just a love of the military -- or at least simulating combat situations. The free game, which starts a player out in basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., and takes gamers into worldwide combat situations is really a recruiting tool for the U.S. Army , which spent more than $7 million to develop the game. Along similar lines, and Alexandria, Va., company that has developed "strategy-training games" for the U.S. military, is creating a recruitment game for the National Guard and has set its own eyes on the lucrative retail gaming market. Privately held Rival Interactive "is profitable and has $2 million in revenue this year," company execs told The Washington Post. * St. Petersburg Times: Uncle Sam Wants You (To Play) * The Washington Post: The Real War Is for PC Gamers and Their Money

The big players want a piece of the online gaming action too. Microsoft plans to launch its Xbox Live online gaming service next month in a move to get ahead of competition from Sony 's PlayStation 2 and Nintendo 's GameCube . * CNET's News.com: Microsoft Names the Day for Xbox Online * PCWorld.com: Microsoft Gears Up for Xbox Live

While online gaming has taken off, out-of-the-box software games for use by one gamer remain hot. One of the most popular PlayStation games is the graphic, made-for-adults car-and-thug series "Grand Theft Auto." The latest installment, " Grand Theft Auto: Vice City ," will start shipping in the U.S. today, according to the chief executive of game maker Take-Two Interactive Software , who spoke about the release on CNBC's "Squawk Box" this morning. New York-based Take-Two owns the Rockstar Games label (the terms "label," "sequel" and the like make gaming sound like a Hollywood movie production, as the gaming world converges more and more with traditional entertainment). The "Vice City" game is just as graphic and only for the adult crowd and takes gamers on new streets set in the "Miami Vice" inspired 1980s. The game retails for almost $50 a pop. * The New York Times News Service via The Taipei Times: Mafia Video Game Raises the Ante, Fires Up the Crowd

Official Spin

AOL Time Warner Chairman Steve Case is considering spinning off the troubled America Online division, according to an article in today's Wall Street Journal. "After months of complaints from AOL Time Warner Inc. executives and investors that the America Online division is a drag on the company, ... Case has been telling senior executives that he would just as soon take back the unit through some sort of spinoff," the Journal reports. The plan sounds half-baked with no sign of support from the other top executives, but the newspaper says Case has made the comment more than once recently, citing "people who have heard him." Case didn't comment for the article. An AOL Time Warner spokesman said "there are no plans to spin off AOL and there are no serious discussions to do so." * The Wall Street Journal: Facing Criticism, Case Weighs Spinoff of AOL (Subscription required) * The Wall Street Journal via MSNBC: Case Weighs Spinoff of AOL

AOL: IM Still Here

Steve Case musings aside, on the heels of its AOL 8.0 software release, America Online next week plans to announce the release of a corporate instant messaging service. The service will have special security features and allow companies to manage and integrate the IM tool into different applications. * InfoWorld: AOL Sends Corporate IM * ComputerWorld Today: Instant Messaging Finds its Way to the Enterprise

WorldCom's Unraveling

Stiles Kellett Jr. , one of WorldCom 's longest-serving directors, has resigned from the board and will pay the company back to end a flap over his $1-per-month lease of a corporate jet. Kellett's jet deal was suspect since during the loan period, Kellett approved millions in loans to ousted chairman Bernie Ebbers . Bloomberg reports Kellett will pay $119,000 to resolve the dispute. According to The New York Times, the ex-board member will "pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for benefits he received in the years before the company collapsed into bankruptcy." * The Washington Post: WorldCom Director Quits Board * Bloomberg News via The Atlanta Journal Constitution: Atlantan Leaves WorldCom Board * The New York Times: WorldCom Director Quits and Agrees to Pay for Using Plane (Registration required)

Big Blue Down Under

IBM is part of a multi-million dollar partnership with the University of Queensland 's Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) that will conduct bioinformatics research. The projects include bioinformatics software and infrastructure research. As part of the deal, IBM has given a grant worth several million dollars to the institute, according to the Australian IT. * Australian IT: IBM Invests in Life Sciences

* Institute for Molecular Bioscience press release

Waiting for the Word

Cable & Wireless board members are meeting this week to decide on the fate of the U.K. telecom group's data services business, C&W Global, according to The Financial Times. "If the company closes or sells the unit, which represents the bulk of C&W operations in the US, it would mark a scaling back of its global ambitions," the newspaper said. Layoffs are likely in the offing if the decision to shutter the data unit comes down. Cable & Wireless has its U.S. hub in Northern Virginia." * The Financial Times: C&W faces tough decision on data services

Moose Fan Site

Chief Charles Moose of Montgomery County, Md., has gained hero status for his handling of the sniper case that terrorized Washington. And in this era of technology, hero status usually means you get your own fan club on the Web. Filter reader Brendon Shank sent this link: www.chiefmoose.com The site, created by a number of people including a Baltimore resident, lists postings from international Web surfers and also has a link to Moose-inspired merchandise. The site says that all profits will be given to the Sniper's Victims Fund in Maryland. * CNN.com via CourtTV: Chief Charles Moose gets accolades in the form of a fan Web site

Paper Money

Scripophily , an Internet company that buys and sells collectible stock and bond certificates -- including certificates related to defunct dot-coms and scandal-ridden tech firms -- said yesterday that it donated a collection of stock certificates from such scandal-ridden firms as Enron , WorldCom , Adelphia , ImClone , Tyco and Martha Stewart Omnimedia to New York's Museum of American Financial History . * Scripophily Web site's scandal stocks * The Palm Beach Post: Tyco Stock Certificate Going for $59.95

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