AMD utility may pose security risks

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has tied a new campaign, entitled "Fusion", to a beta utility designed to speed up AMD-powered PCs, says PC Magazine.

Fusion, AMD's convergence of CPU and graphics unit on the same chip, is scheduled to launch in early 2009.

The utility is designed to speed up gaming experience by turning off background tasks that may use up CPU cycles and the system has a disclaimer which warns that the utility may disable security/anti-virus software, or adversely affect the stability or security of your system.

Mythic Entertainment, an Electronic Arts studio, has released Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) in North America, Europe and the Oceanic territories, says IGN.

With the game's servers now officially live, players are invited to enter WAR's grim fantasy world, swear allegiance to the armies of Order or Destruction, and experience Realm versus Realm combat.

"The Day of Reckoning is finally at hand and I am pleased to invite players to take their first steps into the Warhammer Fantasy universe," said Mark Jacobs, co-founder and GM of Mythic Entertainment.

A national study in the US has found that computer games foster social interaction and civic engagement and that there was no evidence that they incited users to violence, reports The Age.

The study released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that nearly all teens play video games and that their games' activity has become a major component of their overall social experience.

The report said it was the first large-scale study to examine the relationship between specific gaming experiences and civic outcomes.