Is even virtual democracy too dangerous for the EU?

A lot of attention has been paid in recent weeks to the European Parliament-funded virtual reality experience, Citzalia, which recreates life in the Parliament online.

As its weblog states, it is "a role playing game and social networking forum wrapped in a virtual 3D world that captures the essence of the European Parliament." All for the tidy sum of €275,000.

In The Sunday Telegraph, Christopher Booker made the suggestion that "We are given virtual democracy in exchange for real power”.

However, it seems that even "virtual democracy" cannot be trusted by the EU.

The Guardian reported that in the new taxpayer-funded virtual world, "Avatars of European commission officials will also wander the halls 'correcting' mistaken views about the EU." The developer stresses that "there won't be any censorship, but there is a huge risk that misinformation could be fed in. They won't be editing for views, but having these people in can sort of correct things."

Given the EU's inability to accept what voters tell it in the real world, it is hardly surprising that Alles tonenit cannot trust ordinary citizens (who, let us not forget, are paying for this through the EU budget) to have their own debate online, without the need for EU supervision (sorry, "correction").