Preventing attacks on the same scale as 9/11 is at the forefront of New York’s local Government campaign. The city’s Chief Information Officer is looking at new ways to effectively warn residents in the event of an emergency. The proposal takes pre-existing communication networks to the next level – tapping into the popular world of online gaming.

Under the “Empire 2.0” initiative, New York’s Deputy CIO, Rico Singleton is aiming to develop an alert system that can spread through various online games networks, such as Xbox Live, Wii Connect and the Playstation network. “The goal is to reach younger residents who spend more time on the Xbox, Playstation or Wii than with television or radio.”

Although this system would not provide complete coverage, the progression to the gaming society will mean warning signals will reach those beyond the traditional TV and radio audience. Singleton said the plan made sense “considering the amount of time our youth spend on video games”. Few details have been announced but it was confirmed that the plan is in the testing phase.

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