(More) Terror in Virtual Worlds!!!

The Washington Post published an article today looking at the way U.S. Intelligence officials are evaluating potential threats in virtual worlds. It quotes extensively from a recent paper by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (does anyone have a copy?): "What started out as a benign environment where people would congregate to share information or explore fantasy worlds is now offering the opportunity for religious/political extremists to recruit, rehearse, transfer money, and ultimately engage in information warfare or worse with impunity [...] What additional things are possible in the virtual world that cannot be done in the real world? The [intelligence community] needs to 'red team' some possible scenarios of use."" That's well and good--and not news--but other fears also seems to be a bit overblown. The article cites anonymous sources as "convinced that the qualities that many computer users find so attractive about virtual worlds -- including anonymity, global access and the expanded ability to make financial transfers outside normal channels -- have turned them into seedbeds for transnational threats," which is taken a little bit farther than the IARPA's stance. The threat of secret communication or money laundering is real enough for virtual worlds (sort of, since most businesses can't even conduct meetings in public virtual worlds for lack of security and monetary transactions tend to go just as easily through traditional Web-based auction houses), and the author at least cites counter-examples. Linden Lab discusses efforts to cooperate with intelligence officials, one source claims that there's no evidence of nefarious deeds, and others explain that the problems are the same as those already created by the traditional Internet, only with a new face.
However, the virtual world metaphor seems to catch the author (or analysts) up more than seems reasonable: "Virtual worlds could also become an actual battlefield. The intelligence community has begun contemplating how to use Second Life and other such communities as platforms for cyber weapons that could be used against terrorists or enemies, intelligence officials said. One analyst suggested beginning tests with so-called teams of cyber warfare experts. That's a far cry from the fact that "Some computer users have used their avatars to destroy virtual buildings." We've seen a fair amount of interest from the intelligence and military communities in using virtual worlds, but so far only for training or analysis--nothing so far, publicly at least, for an Ender's Game-style scenario. Frankly, I'm more worried (NB: this is my personal tinfoil hat zone) about VoIP threats, physical sabotage to Internet infrastructure, or hackers extorting money by threating to turn off my electricity.
Likewise, the article cites, with what seems like trepidation, promotional material from HiPiHi: "The residents are the Gods of this virtual world; it is a world of limitless possibilities for creativity and self-expression, within a complex social structure and a full functioning economy." Because at the point where other countries have gods inside virtual worlds, we should definitely be afraid.