One of the people who was killed in the recent US Libyan consulate shootings was an online gamer who was in the country as part of an Internet fund-raising programme for the country.

Sean Smith was known by the online moniker "Vile Rat" and was a major participant in the multi-player role-playing game Eve Online. However in the real world Smith served as an information technology specialist at the consulate and worked with U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who also was killed in the attack. Stevens, Smith and two other Americans were killed late Tuesday at the U.S. consulate and a safe house in the southern city of Benghazi. The married father of two joined the State Department 10 years ago. His friend and fellow Eve Online gamer Alex "The Mittani" Gianturco wrote in a tribute to Smith posted on his web site that it seems trivial to praise a husband, father and overall badass for his skills in an Internet spaceship game but that's how most of us know him.

Smith posted in Eve Online forums just before his death saying that “Assuming we don't die tonight. We saw one of our 'police' that guard the compound taking pictures."  Smith focused as relentlessly on using diplomacy as a strategic tool in the game.
Reactions to Smith's death also poured in on social media and on Eve Online forums.

"Really weird to have RL and eve intersect like this. RIP Vile Rat," Twitter user mark726 tweeted.

A tribute video made by members of a rival Eve Online alliance also circulated around the web, displaying text over a recording of Gary Jules' "Mad World." What apparently set the Libyans off was the release of a video on YouTube which insulted the profit Mohammed. But hacks trying to find the people responsible for the video have found a particularly nasty bit of black ops from a small group of right wing Christian fundamentalists.

Initial reports claimed that the video was made by an Israeli businessman, and used Christian copts as actors. But it is more likely that that this story was a set up as none of the players appeared to exist. While Egyptian coptic actors appeared to have been used, their dialogue in the film was harmless. However after they made their acting performance the dialogue was then dubbed over with an anti-prophet script.

Tin foil hat wearers believe that it is a right wing Christian plot to get fundamentalist Muslims to rise up against the US and Israelis and force the US into a middle eastern war and bring about some prophecy in Revelation about the end times.