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GTA IV website prompts outrage

littlelacysurprisepageant.com

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Grand Theft Auto IV is once again at the centre of controversy. But this time people aren’t complaining that the game’s too violent, because they’re more concerned about the discovery of a so-called paedophile website.

In the game, an internet café allows the player to access a child pageant website called littlelacysurprisepageant.com. But, rather than showing anything untoward, the site’s actually a front for GTA IV’s police force and displays the warning: “We see it all, we know it all”.

However, clicking on the game’s spoof website is still a thrill because it automatically raises the player’s wanted level to five stars.

Several gamers have already voiced their concerns in a report in The Sun, with one gamer stating that the website crosses the line.

Jason Deschoolmeester, 23, of South Wales, said the website “could lead people to indulge in things like that. It is totally sick. I won’t play it [GTA IV] again”.

Child-protection body the NSPCC has even expressed its distaste for the spoof website. Zoe Hilton, the NSPPC's policy coordinator for child protection, said it’s “disturbing that it is meant to be funny and that it is glamorising something that is really shocking and upsetting”.

This latest attack on GTA IV adds to existing criticism of this year’s must-have videogame, which has already sold about 4.2m copies in the US alone.

In a Croydon Gamestation store, one gamer stabbed another man in the head and neck as they both queued to buy copies of the game on the day of its release. Anti-GTA IV campaigners quickly jumped on the stabbing incident as proof that such games are too violent for society.

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Latest Comments

Little miss DeSchoolmeester

Have just read the article. And the comments. Agree with all about the whole "can't see any CP, SWAT team jump on from great height" etc and this is a desperate attempt to look for a problem that isn't there.

One other point. The website contains the word "lacy", presumably a reference to the clothing style a la "lace-like or made of lace". Mr Welsh-Dutchman has named his daughter "Lacey" (with an "e").

So he is miffed that the website contains 80% of the letters in his daughter's name. Is he serious??? Lets review his worry here:

The fictional website that doesn't exist and shows no images and summons the whole of Liberty City's police force has a string of letters in the middle of the website that sound similar to but are not the same as the first name of his child and several thousands of other children in the world?

Does he wear a tin foil hat and avoid the cracks in pavements? What a fueckweit (am sure Jason will understand this as he doesn't notice the letter "e" in words, apparently)

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it's like it's 2001 all over again

The media completely missing the point, getting worked up and then looking ridiculous?

Brass eye?

Let's go stamp on some crabs.

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@Pondlife

"Will somebody please think of the children?!"

I think it's the possibility of people /thinking/ of the children that started this whole silly hoo-hah!

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