Police officials in the United Kingdom have started an investigation in the first case of an alleged rape that took place in a virtual reality game as a 16-year-old girl faced a "sexual attack" in the online "metaverse". The victim was left distraught after her avatar, which is her digital character, was gang-raped by strangers online, reported The New York Post.&nbsp;

It was reported that the teenage girl was doing a virtual reality headset in an immersive game when a group of men allegedly raped her avatar, said the report. Although the girl did not sustain any physical injury, the teenager suffered a similar kind of psychological and emotional trauma as someone who gets raped in the "real world", said the investigating officers.&nbsp;

This is believed to be the first case of virtual sexual offence which is being investigated by the police.

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"This child experienced psychological trauma similar to that of someone who has been physically raped. There is an emotional and psychological impact on the victim that is longer term than any physical injuries," said a senior officer, who was familiar with the rape case, while speaking to The New York Post.&nbsp;

"It poses a number of challenges for law enforcement given current legislation is not set up for this," the officer stated. However, it was not clear what kind of game the teenage girl was playing when her avatar was gang-raped in the metaverse.

The investigation into the first-of-its-kind case has prompted discussion around should police officials pursue virtual offences considering the fact that the police and prosecutors are currently facing a huge backlog of actual rape cases.

<h2>Child suffered 'sexual trauma': UK home secretary</h2>

Meanwhile, UK Home Secretary, James Cleverly, while trying to defend the investigation into virtual reality rape, said that the child has gone through "sexual trauma".

"I know it is easy to dismiss this as being not real, but the whole point of these virtual environments is they are incredibly immersive,” said Cleverly, while speaking to news outlet LBC.

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<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/india-uk-trade-negotiations-enter-14th-round-uk-eyes-trade-deal-by-march-2024-say-reports-675819/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"It's also worth realising that somebody who is willing to put a child through a trauma like that digitally may well be someone that could go on to do terrible things in the physical realm," he added.&nbsp;

<h2>How did Meta respond to the incident?</h2>

Several incidents of virtual sex crimes have been reported in Horizon Worlds - which is a free VR game operated by Facebook's parent company Meta.

"The kind of behaviour described has no place on our platform, which is why for all users we have an automatic protection called personal boundary, which keeps people you don't know a few feet away from you," said a spokesperson for Meta.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Police officials in the United Kingdom have started an investigation in the first case of an alleged rape that took place in a virtual reality game as a 16-year-old girl faced a "sexual attack" in the online "metaverse".

Police officials in the United Kingdom have started an investigation in the first case of an alleged rape that took place in a virtual reality game as a 16-year-old girl faced a "sexual attack" in the online "metaverse". The victim was left distraught after her avatar, which is her digital character, was gang-raped by strangers online, reported The New York Post. It was reported that the teenage girl was doing a virtual reality headset in an immersive game when a group of men allegedly raped her avatar, said the report. Although the girl did not sustain any physical injury, the teenager suffered a similar kind of psychological and emotional trauma as someone who gets raped in the "real world", said the investigating officers. This is believed to be the first case of virtual sexual offence which is being investigated by the police. Also read: UK: House of Lords guzzled champagne worth $113,000 in 2023 "This child experienced psychological trauma similar to that of someone who has been physically raped. There is an emotional and psychological impact on the victim that is longer term than any physical injuries," said a senior officer, who was familiar with the rape case, while speaking to The New York Post. "It poses a number of challenges for law enforcement given current legislation is not set up for this," the officer stated. However, it was not clear what kind of game the teenage girl was playing when her avatar was gang-raped in the metaverse. The investigation into the first-of-its-kind case has prompted discussion around should police officials pursue virtual offences considering the fact that the police and prosecutors are currently facing a huge backlog of actual rape cases. Child suffered 'sexual trauma': UK home secretary Meanwhile, UK Home Secretary, James Cleverly, while trying to defend the investigation into virtual reality rape, said that the child has gone through "sexual trauma". "I know it is easy to dismiss this as being not real, but the whole point of these virtual environments is they are incredibly immersive,” said Cleverly, while speaking to news outlet LBC. Watch: India-UK trade negotiations enter 14th round; UK eyes trade deal by March 2024, say reports "It's also worth realising that somebody who is willing to put a child through a trauma like that digitally may well be someone that could go on to do terrible things in the physical realm," he added. How did Meta respond to the incident? Several incidents of virtual sex crimes have been reported in Horizon Worlds - which is a free VR game operated by Facebook's parent company Meta. "The kind of behaviour described has no place on our platform, which is why for all users we have an automatic protection called personal boundary, which keeps people you don't know a few feet away from you," said a spokesperson for Meta. (With inputs from agencies)

Virtual reality turns ugly for UK teen after being 'gang-raped' in metaverse

A resident of India’s state of Kerala, Shafi Vikraman, has claimed to have obtained over 145 certificates of courses offered by various universities in 16 countries virtually during the Covid-induced lockdown. &nbsp;

Vikraman, who lives in Thiruvananthapuram, told ANI, that he spent over 20 hours daily to earn these certificates during the lockdown. &nbsp;&nbsp;

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"Lockdown was a situation where people were not able to move out, I utilised that time at maxim level," Vikraman said.&nbsp;

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Vikraman, while talking about his experience, said that some courses he found were quite tough at the initial stage but when he started completing them one after another, he realised that he can go way further. &nbsp;

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"To complete these courses, either you have to be academically brilliant or to be smart enough, everyone cannot do this," Vikraman explained. &nbsp;&nbsp;

"People have to pay for these courses as well, but I was lucky, that I did not pay any cost. If it would have not been free of cost, it was sure that I would have not completed these courses because we can't afford that many fees," Vikraman added. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

A resident of India’s state of Kerala, Shafi Vikraman, has claimed to have obtained over 145 certificates of courses offered by various universities in 16 countries virtually during the Covid-induced lockdown.

A resident of India’s state of Kerala, Shafi Vikraman, has claimed to have obtained over 145 certificates of courses offered by various universities in 16 countries virtually during the Covid-induced lockdown. Vikraman, who lives in Thiruvananthapuram, told ANI, that he spent over 20 hours daily to earn these certificates during the lockdown. Also Read: India reports over 1,41,900 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours "Lockdown was a situation where people were not able to move out, I utilised that time at maxim level," Vikraman said. Vikraman, while talking about his experience, said that some courses he found were quite tough at the initial stage but when he started completing them one after another, he realised that he can go way further. Also Read: For first time in India, J&K Police to get American assault rifles and pistols "To complete these courses, either you have to be academically brilliant or to be smart enough, everyone cannot do this," Vikraman explained. "People have to pay for these courses as well, but I was lucky, that I did not pay any cost. If it would have not been free of cost, it was sure that I would have not completed these courses because we can't afford that many fees," Vikraman added. (With inputs from agencies)

Indian man claims to get over 145 educational certificates during Covid lockdown

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