Thief stole virtual amulet from gamer

A Dutch man's theft conviction for stealing a virtual amulet and mask from a schoolboy who won them in a computer game has been upheld.

His 13-year-old victim was beaten up and threatened with a knife to persuade him to part with the items he won playing online fantasy game Runescape.

The man, whose name was not made public but who was born in 1992, was ordered to perform 144 hours of community service by the Dutch Supreme Court.

It was only a handful of such cases to have been heard in the world so far and one of even fewer to lead to a conviction, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The defendant's lawyer had argued the amulet and mask "were neither tangible nor material and, unlike for example electricity, had no economic value".

But the Netherlands' highest court said the virtual objects had an intrinsic value to the 13-year-old gamer because of "the time and energy he invested" in winning them while playing the game.

The court heard the man and an accomplice beat and kicked the boy and threatened him with a knife until he logged into RuneScape and dropped the objects.

One of the thieves, who was also playing the game, was then able to pick up the items, making them his virtual property.

Both were convicted by a lower court in 2009, but only one of them had appealed to the Supreme Court.