Updated Nigerian 419ers certainly like to travel. Since kicking off their careers as international scamsters back in the old mother country, they've popped up in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Dubai, Zimbabwe, Iraq, China and even a low-earth orbit. What they have not, however, managed is to journey into the future - or so we thought.

In what is a very timely email - given that Doom 3 officially stormed the UK's shores today - reader David Pleavin explains how the Lads from Lagos get a heads-up from the chaps behind the game:

419 scam alive and well in 2145 :) The guys at id software have included a spam 419 e-mail from Nigeria in Doom3. Brilliant take-off, and can be found if you kill a poor scientist at the beginning of Alpha Labs Sector 4, nick his PDA and go through his inbox. Could be the best way ever of alerting the gaming public about the lads from Lagos. Regards David

Remarkable. Of course, we can't immediately confirm that this is so, although we have no reason to doubt our correspondent. Readers will doubtless set us straight one way or the other. Happy gaming, and watch out for those unsolicited emails - they bite. ®

Update

Our faith in David was well-founded, it seems. Thanks to all those readers who have emailed to confirm that said PDA contains a letter from one "DR. John Okonkwo" outlining a tempting get-rich-quick scheme. Cheers too to those gamers who note that another PDA has a piece of "pharmaceutical" spam on it. Expect stiff opposition when you eventually come across it.

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