Don't let his robes fool you - you may have more in common with Trinley Dorje than you think. He's only 24, listens to hip-hop on his iPod, and enjoys a good round violent video games. Yes, you read that right - this Buddhist leader enjoys good old-fashioned pwnage as much as the next guy. In fact, despite his disposition, Dorje believes that this type of games can even be therapeutic.

The move to sack a hefty number of employees may be coming back to haunt publisher LucasArts. There's been word that a disgruntled employee who lost his job is out for a little payback. Information about future releases have allegedly been leaked. Know more in the full article up next.

Now that Peter Moore has taken the helm of EA Sports as president, big plans are about to be carried out for the company. Not only does he want games of the brand to be successful in multiple platforms, but also wants EA Sports to go global.

In an interview, Moore discussed about how he looks at other countries where the gaming industry could be in three years time. India, Russia, and mainland China are the biggest bets as future major players within the interactive entertainment world. For instance, EA Sports is looking at cricket as a sport that can become more than just India's favorite.

Other goals in Moore's checklist include capitalizing on various platforms and making sure his company can make games that sell to a wider audience. He also expressed interest in getting another tattoo, one of John Madden, if his back is wide enough.

When asked why Moore left his position in Microsoft as corporate vice president, he replied:

[EA] is a company I have enjoyed competing with over the years and more recently collaborating with. I have strong Bay Area roots with my kids being born here, being Cal Berkeley kids, and the timing was right for me both personally and professionally to come here.

He also mentioned how he knew Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitello for a long time and figured out that being where he is now is the suitable place for someone with his background. Some may remember EA also offered him good salary and compensation for leaving his previous job.

For the full interview, click on the Read link below.

Never has the future of online gaming been so controversial in the last decade until now. So much of the world has participated in the virtual world battles that the consequences won't always go unnoticed. On January 7-9, 2007, "State of Play IV: Building the Global Metaverse" conference will be held in Singapore. The core topic will revolve around "the unique regulatory and cross-cultural challenges posed by the growth of transnational virtual worlds."

Statistics reveal that the online gaming market in the Asia Pacific region generated some $1.4 billion in annual revenues last year. The trend continues,so it's expected that the figure will triple by the decade's end. It's significant to know that much of this growth have been attributed to Chinese gamers, as evident in the much-attended Chinajoy conference and software show early this year. But of course, most gamers in the Asia-Pacific region such as India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines have also contributed to this phenomenon.

Understanding "what might be" is indeed a challenge. The number of attendees in this conference may even surpass that of Chinajoy's. The conference schedule and registration information will be announced on September 1st, but as always, we'll keep you posted.

The conference is to be sponsored by Harvard, Yale and New York Law Schools, Texas' Trinity University, and Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.