The Chinese Hero Registry

This Chinese government initiative into online communities appeals to me, but I’m not sure why. After several manic days in The Sims, my sim died when I burnt down my virtual kitchen. If I can’t cook, wash up, clean and tidy in the real world, what on earth made me think I’d be successful in a virtual one? This new game has some of the same questions for me. How do you darn socks anyway? Pfft don’t you just buy new ones?

Heroes Darn Socks in China’s Online World
“Developed by the country’s biggest online game company, Shanda, the Chinese Hero Registry aims to revive 100 icons of Chinese history and turn them into virtual warriors to combat the negative influence of video games.”

My question is this: what would Australia’s equivalent be?
Instead of heavily armed superheroes licensed to kill, the new game will highlight the likes of a model communist soldier famous for helping other people. To advance in this game, players will not gun down their enemies. Instead they will mend socks, and gain points by getting appreciation letters for doing good deeds such as helping old ladies home in a thunderstorm and stopping people from spitting on the pavement. The prize is a signed virtual copy of Mao Zedong’s Little Red Book.
Somehow I don’t see hackers invading the game to darn 1 million socks in 10 minutes to score Ol’ Mao’s book. Singapore did a great job of stopping the spitting, interesting to see China using online games to move in the same direction. Back to my question: what would activities are intrinsically Australian’s (not darning socks i’m pretty sure) and if the government built it, would the users come?

Technorati Tags Online Communities, China, Online Games, Shanda, Chinese Hero Registry