The Foreign Service Journal, April 2009

This is not just a tragedy for Israelis and their neighbors in theMiddle East; it is doing widening damage to the national security of the United States.” — Susan Brady Maitra, Senior Editor Let the Games Begin … Early this year, the first two in a se- ries of computer games underwritten by the State Department’s Office of eDiplomacy will debut as an open invi- tation for the world to use for free in an effort to bridge cultures: X-Life: Driven and X-Life: Babangar Blues. The product of MetroStar Systems, Inc., a supplier of NewMedia technol- ogy solutions for the federal govern- ment, the games will be launched in the Middle East as an initiative for ediplomacy ( www.xlifegames.com ) . X-Life Games’ motto — “bridging cultures one pixel at a time” — reflects its aim to put advanced gaming tech- nology into the service of foreign pol- icy. Leveraging the latest in mobile technology, X-Life users in the Middle East and Gulf region will be introduced to American culture in a non-threaten- ing and constructive manner. The X-Life games are a series of small, interrelated adventure modules that explore how your life would have been different had you chosen an al- ternate career. “X-Life, the game, explores one idea —what unites us, rather than what di- vides us,” said Ali Reza Manouchehri, chief executive officer of MetroStar Systems, Inc. “Middle Eastern and Persian Gulf youth will have the op- portunity to experience the dynamism and vitality of American life. X-Life projects the fundamental values that Americans cherish: tolerance, freedom and respect for cultural and religious differences.” The project is headed by veteran gamers Neal Hallford, J.R. Register and Ghafur Remtulla. — Susan Brady Maitra, Senior Editor 12 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 0 9 C Y B E R N O T E S Site of the Month: What’s In an Acronym? International relations is littered with the alphabet soup of acronyms — from AFRICOM to UNHCR and WFP. www.all-acronyms.com and www.acronymfinder. com are two free sites that, combined, offer more than a million acronym definitions. Unlike most acronym directories online, these two are not limited to information technology or telecommunications terms. Claiming to have the largest, most comprehensive acronym and abbreviation database, AcronymFinder has been on the Web since 1995. A particularly useful feature of the site’s search function is its breakdown of results by area: “All,” “IT,” “Government & Military,” “Science & Medicine,” “Organizations & Schools, etc.,” “Business & Finance” and “Pop Culture.” The site adds 5,000 entries per month. Initially developed, supported and privately used by a group of acronym enthu- siasts and university students, All-Acronyms.com opened for public access in 2005 to provide a convenient tool to quickly find an acronym definition or the proper ab- breviation for a word or phrase. Since then, the number of regular visitors has grown to more than 500,000 monthly. Both sites rely on suggestions from users for new entries. — Susan Brady Maitra, Senior Editor

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