Minecraft: Denmark Replica Disrupted by Cyber Vandals'
Minecraft: Denmark replica disrupted by 'cyber vandals'
7 May 2014
A virtual replica of Denmark created to help educate children has been disrupted by "cyber vandals".
Small portions of it were destroyed despite a ban issued by its creators the Danish Geodata Agency (DGA) on the use "dynamite".
At the beginning area in the area of the start, huge US flags were put up, along with white, red and blue "America" signs.
The state-owned agency believes that the "vandalism" was meant to draw attention, and claimed that the damage was fixed.
Images showing the changes first were posted on the fan site minecraftforum.net posted by a user who wrote: "I americanlized [sic] the area a bit."
Chris Hammeken, chief of press at the Danish Geodata Agency, stated to the BBC that only a small portion of the area was destroyed.
"The flags actually appeared right at the point where players start and I'm sure the people who put them there wanted to draw the most attention they could."
Hidden 'dynamite'
"Minecraft's about building and re-building," stated Mr Hammeken. He said the incident was part of Minecraft's "nature" of play.
The buildings were destroyed by virtual dynamite - the use of which was prohibited on the Danish server after users discovered it could be detonated if hidden in mining carts.
Mr Hammeken stated that "it was the players who took care of all the damage and replaced it with new grass, flowers the following morning."
The city was not "hand-built" The topographic data of Denmark was transferred into Minecraft which is available for download as a free download on the DGA's website.
The users who download the data can then upload it to their own private Minecraft server that will give the city with a new look and protect users from attacks.
The replica has already been downloaded more than 220,000 times since the beginning of this month.
Virtual field trips
The DGA created an imitation of Denmark to spark interest in spatial data with an emphasis on education for children.
Its website explains: "There are real addresses in the game, which means it's possible to engage in discussions about the names of places and their significance."
The agency has also suggested using the replica as a way to take students on virtual field excursions.
"We've observed that children are more likely to learn when they are exposed to something they're familiar with." explained Mr Hammeken and said Minecraft had been utilized as a tool for education in Denmark for many years.
It is not clear who were the "vandals" are, or why they targeted Denmark.
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