the MPAA wants Congress to enforce filters and the three-strikes rule on ISPs.

Originally Hollywood wanted movie pirates to walk the plank, however now that's not good enough. According to Wired, the Motion Picture Association of America wants pirates to be "off with their heads" by asking Congress to encourage a three-strike rule against offending file sharers. Hollywood also wants Congress to make Internet Service Providers filter out pirated movies altogether.

The request stems from a 35-page lobbying letter (PDF) to the Federal Communications Commission submitted on Friday. Hollywood is hoping that the request will be drafted into the FCC's recommendations to Congress for a national broadband plan. If the attempt succeeds, file sharers could face permanent disconnection from the Internet, or rather, a beheaded broadband access.

 "These efforts, which include graduated response policies as well as technologies such as watermarking and filtering, have proven to be successful in various contexts,” the MPAA states in the letter. “MPAA strongly urges the commission to recommend that Congress encourage multiple efforts to deter unlawful activity and not interpose any legal or regulatory obstacles that would per se bar the use of any otherwise lawful methodology."

Public Knowledge, a digital rights group, opposes the proposed filters, saying that filtering is a form of privacy breach. "You don’t break into peoples' houses to see if people have stolen books,’ said spokesman Art Brodsky. "This is an assumption of guilt that they have to look through everybody’s bits." Brodsky added that the MPAA's proposal isn't consumer friendly.

Now it's less scary to admit that you have a problem.

Internet addiction treatment clinics are popping up all over the world. During early September we learned of a rehab center that offered habit-kicking programs for addictions to things such as World of Warcraft for just $14,000. Britain has launched its own internet addiction program as well.

While each country may have a different cultural view on how to deal with addiction, the Chinese government has outlined what not to do with internet addicted youths – and that's physically beating them.

The AFP reported that China is banning the beating and confinement of youths being treated for internet addiction. The new regulations posted on the health ministry's website on Wednesday and stressed that restraint must be used in dealing with such youngsters.

The notice read: "Parents and teachers must analyse the causes and not arbitrarily condemn, hit or scold youths... intervention methods that restrict personal freedom are strictly forbidden and corporal punishment (is) strictly forbidden."

Such regulation is likely in response to the death of a 15-year-old boy, who was beat to death at an internet addiction camp in southern China's Guangxi region.

China currently has an estimated 400 private internet rehabilitation clinics.

Kid in fear of losing his Wii.

What can the authorities do to a 12-year-old boy who's lately been on the wrong side of the law? If you're Judge Marvin Garfinkle, you hit him where it hurts – his Wii.

Since last February, the boy has allegedly committed such acts as using a rock-filled sock to smash the door windows of his elementary school and chasing and punching classmates in the face. The boy has also hit one of his peers over the head with a pool cue.

The boy was eventually put under a court order not to attend his school, but he's breached that order at least three times. His latest arrest was on October 16 when he allegedly attacked a male student and female teacher at his new school following a game of dodge ball, according to the Winnipeg Sun.

After the latest arrest, Judge Garfinkle decided to grant the boy bail only after he agreed to provide the court with his most valued possession as security – his Nintendo Wii.

In order to keep his Wii, the must comply in keeping the peace, appearing for court dates, living with his grandmother and participating in a bail management program.

"He is pledging as a security, akin to a cash deposit, his Nintendo Wii," Garfinkle said. "And if he doesn't comply, he loses it."

Modern Warfare 2 is looking good.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is less than a week away, which will surely turn out to be one of the biggest games of 2009.

In preparation for the upcoming release, Infinity Ward has released a launch trailer that shows more scenarios from the game than any other teaser before it. If you're exciting to get your hands on MW2 next week, this one will get you even hotter.

The X-ray machine has been voted the best scientific invention, with one in five fingering the machine having made the greatest impact on the past, present and future.

The BBC reports that the London Science Museum asked 50,000 people to vote for the scientific development that they felt had had the most impact on society. The list of 10 inventions short listed for the award includes the most significant objects in science, engineering, technology and medicine, such as Penicillin, the Apollo 10 capsule and DNA double helix.

The top three spots were dominated by medicine, with the Apollo 10 capsule taking 4th place and the V2 rocket engine ticking in at number 5.

Check out the complete rankings below.

1st place - X-ray machines

2nd place - Penicillin

3rd place - DNA double helix

4th place - Apollo 10 capsule

5th place - V2 Rocket Engine

6th place - Stephenson's Rocket

7th place - Pilot ACE Computer

8th place - Steam Engine

9th place - Model T Ford

10th place - Electric Telegraph

Do you agree with the results or do you think another invention should have taken the top spot, or at least been included in the poll? Let us know in the comments below!

Epic Games released a free Unreal toolkit for your game designing pleasure.

Early this morning (read: rooster kind of early), Epic Games announced that it has released the new Unreal Development Kit (UDK), a free edition of the Unreal Engine 3 for those of us too damn broke to design a game. Epic is making the kit free to anyone, not just game developers: students, hobbyists, researchers, digital filmmakers, anyone with a brain and a desire to create something unreal can grab the toolkit.

The catch is that its only free if used for noncommercial and educational use. Development houses salivating at the thought of saving truckloads of cash will be required to stick with the premium, licensed version. "Commercial terms have been structured to make it easy for independent developers, start-up firms and seasoned professionals to use UDK with minimal financial barrier from concept to deployment," the company said.

Epic also said that the UDK offers all the recently added features and technological enhancements, including features that have yet to be implemented into a UE3-powered game. For now, the UDK is only for the PC, although Epic is currently considering support for consoles. The UDK also provides over 200 pages of support information via an "unlocked" website located here.

It's probably safe to say that the recent mystery surrounding a splash image replacing the Epic website--and then quickly removed--was the upcoming announcement of the UDK, and not another installment in the Unreal series. While it's great that Epic has released a free toolset, we were hoping for the third chapter. Then again, with the fresh and free toolset, we could make our own. Ok, maybe not.

Good news, technophiles. Research shows that an increased use of cell phones and the internet has not led to a spike social isolation. In fact, things are pretty much the same as they were in 1985.

I was a little too old to be told to "go outside and get some fresh air," when I first started using the Internet, but I can't say I wasn't at least a little apprehensive as to whether or not I was spending too much time on my computer and not enough time talking to real people who I was certain existed. A new study by research group Pew shows that the extent of social isolation has hardly changed since the mid-eighties, contrary to concerns that the prevalence of severe isolation has tripled since then. In fact, just 6 percent of the adult population has no one with whom they can discuss important matters or who they consider to be “especially significant” in their life.

Pew goes on to say that Americans’ "discussion networks" have shrunk by about a third since 1985 and have become less diverse because they contain fewer non-family members. But, challenging the concern that people’s use of the internet and cell phones could be tied to the trend towards smaller networks, Pew found that those who owned a mobile phone and participated in a variety of internet activities were associated with larger and more diverse core discussion networks.

Pew reports that those who spend a lot of time on the Internet at work (here's lookin' at you, kid) and bloggers are more likely to volunteer at a local or charitable organization. Pew also reports that frequent Internet users and bloggers are also more likely to confide in a person of another race and just as likely to visit their neighbors than anyone else. However, despite being good Samaritans and social butterflies, it seems social networking isn't all it's cracked up to be. Pew says it found some evidence that use of social networking services (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn) substitutes for some neighborhood involvement.

Check out the full report here.

Gwen Stefani wasn't pleased to find out her avatar was singing a Rolling Stones tune.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Gwen Stefani and her band mates from No Doubt are taking Activision to court over their portrayal in the just released game, Guitar Hero: Band Hero. The suit, filed earlier today in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims that Activision went beyond the contract signed with the band. In fact, the No Doubt claims that its members were transformed into a "virtual karaoke circus act."

“The band [members] are bitterly disappointed that their name and likeness was taken and used without their permission,” said No Doubt manager Jim Guerinot. “They agreed to play three No Doubt songs as a band. Activision then went and put them in 62 other songs and broke the band up [and] never even asked.”

Naturally, Activision backs its decision to use No Doubt as it pleased within the game, stating that the company was within its legal rights, and that the No Doubt lawsuit is without merit. Overall the band's issue is that No Doubt members, collectively and individually, can be used as "virtual performers" in other songs not written and performed by the band. The lawsuit specifies that Activision was not authorized to use the band beyond the three approved songs.

The lawsuit even provides an example of the game's offending actions: players can force Gwen Stefani's avatar to sing the Rolling Stones' hit song "Honky Tonk Women" within the game's Character Manipulation Feature. " Apparently that's not a good thing, especially when Gwen is singing like a man. "While No Doubt are avid fans of the Rolling Stones and even have performed in concerts with the Rolling Stones,” the complaint states, “the Character Manipulation Feature results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes.”

Sorry, but that's just too funny. For gamers wanting more Thursday Activision drama, head over to the Los Angeles Times article. Honestly, we just think Gwen is jealous because Activision chose Taylor Swift as the "spokeswoman" for the game.

Adult Friend finder is funded by pedophiles and child pornography.

A report from Single Parent Gossip author and child safety expert Pat McKenna, going live on SPG's website today, warns that single parents looking for love online may want to avoid Adult Friend Finder.com by a long shot. McKenna's report alleges that the matchmaking website generates revenue from ads placed on websites containing imagery depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

"These websites act as so-called affiliate marketers routing traffic to AFF and they are paid by AFF on a per click basis suggesting that there is a financial incentive for marketers to place AFF ads wherever possible to get traffic," the report claims. "AFF pays for that traffic so it is aware of its origin and the identity of the marketer in order to maintain accounting."

The report also clearly defines the matchmaking website: it's for adults looking to establish some kind of relationship, not a Facebook-type arena where old schoolmates gather together. The drawback is that apparently AFF has racked in a good number of "criminals" and "pedophiles" related to the websites supporting AFF's advertisement. It's indicated that pedophiles could try to build a relationship with adults to get close to their children.

But McKenna's report alleges that AFF is purposely "building a path" for pedophiles and criminals to its front page through its affiliate marketing campaign. "They pay for affiliates to manage and drive that traffic to their landing pages and entice these people to join by displaying adverts of local girls displaying their wears and graces," the report claims. "That traffic has a name. Yes, they are pedophiles with a desire to download and view imagery, interact with, and in too many cases have physical contact and sex with children."

To read more bout the threat Adult Friend finder poses, check out McKenna's report over on Single Parent Gossip. Thanks to Tom's old pal Wolfgang for the tip!