The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 62

The Guardian Thursday January242002 online7 obiie matters ILLUSTRATION: MIN COOPER Processed peace that are either untraceable or acting from outside the European Union. Brightmail's European vice president Francois Lavaste says: "Only a technological solution will address this 90." Indeed, in those countries where SMS spam has reached epidemic levels, such as Japan, technological measures have proved effective. The Japanese mobile services company NTT DoCoMo reacted to the problem by doubling the amount of numbers that mobile users can block and by allowing them to change their SMS addresses. The powers available to UK operators include disconnecting spammers from their SMS centres (where SMS messages are stored in transit), but in the main they only act in response to specific cases. The measures mobile users can take include registering with the government-run Telephone Preference Service at www.tpsonline.org.uk (which makes sending a direct marketing call or SMS to that number illegal) and reporting spammers to the MMA at www.

wireless marketing.org.uk. Whether this is enough to hold back the rising tide of mobile spam, only time (and text) will tell. premium-priced audio line, many do it automatically without realising the cost." SMS overload can'also prevent time-critical messages from being received and eats up phone memory. Hyperion technical consultant Steve Rothwell believes mobile users could receive from 20 to 40 messages a day, if the spam problem grows. And when the recipients are children still the most committed texters further concerns arise.

The MMA, whose members include Vodafone, Orange and BTCellnet, has drawn up a code of conduct prohibiting unsolicited commercial messages. But its guidelines have no power over non-members. Some within the industry, such as Edward Orr of the SMS portal Uboot.com, believe self-regulation will be enough, as "annoying the hell out of people by spamming them is hardly likely to generate much business from them." However, as any Hotmail user can testify, some companies have turned "annoying the hell out of people" into a mission statement. ance between promotional message and actual content can be a pleasure to receive." Uninvited mobile spam is not so pleasurable for the mobile user. Steve Wunker, UK chairman of the recently formed Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), says that although SMS spam is a limited problem at present, "the economics of spam are As well as being relatively cheap to send mass messages, it is easy for spammers to generate random mailing lists, as SMS addresses are generally the same as the mobile phone numbers.

Broadly speaking, mobile spam falls into two categories: pure promotional messages and attempts to generate immediate revenue through premium rate services. The former may be annoying, but the latter can have serious consequences, especially for first-timers. "As many as 70 of post-pay mobile customers have yet to send their first text message," explains Mark Selby. "When these people get an SMS telling them to call a Mobile users can avoid a diet of spam, says MattHaig increasing adop tion of test messaging (SMS) has led to fears that mobile spam could soon swamp users. Such spam is even more unhealthy than email spam.

Although purists believe all marketing messages sent via mobile networks are unwelcome, many users ask to receive them. Registration-based SMS services account for as much as 10 of text messaging traffic. People have opted for services such as the Bridget Jones Text Diary and the Men's Health Belly Off club. As Mark Selby, founder of the Mobile Channel Network, points out, "permission-based mobile marketing services with clear opt-out procedures and a correct bal Novelty ofa gaming gem dries up Serious Sam The Second Encounter PC 19.99 Take 2 Interactive Serious Sam was one of last year's gaming gems, a raucous shoot-'em-up unashamedly based on iD's original Doom The end of the story for role-playing Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor PC 29.99 UbiSoftSSI I've finally realised why it is that buying a role-playing game carries as much stigma as beating a small child in public. It's not the fact that it's about wizards, elves and dragons.

It's the fact that it's bound to have something like The Goblins of Sorkokk in huge mSBBBBffl interpretation. The EU has recently mandated that SMS should be sent only with prior consent. Wunker believes the government will start to codify this into law, but it may not be enough. As Brightmail, the anti-spam provider has highlighted, EU legislation only affects European-registered companies: 90 of unsolicited emails or SMS messages come from spammers Be a war-time one-hit wonder Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon PC 34.99 Red StormUbi Soft One hit and you're dead, simple as that. No extra lives or power bars or electronic shields; Ghost Recon takes computer gaming very seriously.

This latest military combat title, like Codemas-ters Operation Flashpoint, simulates modern warfare to the finest detail. Crawling in the undergrowth and vigilant surveillance are accurately simulated, with any wrong move spelling instant death. Gun-toting Quake addicts will last seconds as this is all about sneaking around, pick-ingyour target and staying hidden from the enemy. But unlike Flashpoint, where you started at a low rank, spending early levels staying low to stay alive, here you get thrown straight in. Players control one of six soldiers, but this isn't quite as Despite the number of organisations set up to prevent email spam, such as Cauce (Campaign Against Unsolicited Commercial Email), no guidelines have been completely effective.

The legal situation is far from clear. The Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999 Act was compiled before the explosion of SMS and therefore open to However SS2 is even more of a one-trick pony than the prequel. Yes, it still boasts one of the finest 3D engines on Earth, capable of throwing dozens of enemies at you at once, and a rich assortment of gorgeous levels to explore, but it is fairly predictable stuff. See an empty room with a tempting object in the middle and you just know an ambush is waiting foryou and the novelty wears off quickly. Hopefully a proper sequel is in development from the little known, but clearly talented, Croteam.

As it stands, SS2 is only essential gaming if you missed out on the first instalment, in which case it is a real bargain at the price. For the rest of us, it is more mindless fun and, along with the imminent Medal of Honour, a sign that iD no longer rule the genre they created. MikeAnderiess although the puzzles wouldn't stretch a 10-year-old. Lack of depth generally is this game's greatest failing. Heroes rarely make comments, and never interact with each other; the dialogue with non-player characters is of the sort you might have if you were trapped on a desert island with your ex-wife; the storyline is linear; and the monsters (ores, skeletons, zombies) never vary their attacks, which, combined with the dreaded respawning of enemies, makes for drearily repetitive combat.

But on reflection, I'd rather try The Goblins of Sorkokk. AndyBodle tactical as Flashpoint and you often end up doing everything yourself rather than relying on the patchy artificial intelligence. The main problems though are the high difficulty level and steep learning curve. Getting picked off once is fine; getting continually hit by unerringly accurate sniper fire is enough to make you yearn for civvy street. Thankfully regular use of the quick-save helps preserve sanity, if not the realistic atmosphere.

Unfortunate, really, as the awesome environments and sound effects create a vivid sense of place as Recon pulls graphical rank over Flashpoint. The trees and foliage are particularly impressive, although the latter does remain unrealistically impervious to gunfire. The ability to train up your troops and garner new specialist recruits help retain interest, while the missions (all set in Russia and Asia) are varied. Ghost Recon is tough, demanding and unforgiving all plus points to fans of the genre. Unfortunately a less tactical approach, and some fiddly controls, means Operation Flashpoint is still in command.

GregHowson SS2: a one-trick pony The game kicks off with your space ship crashing into mountains (another impressive, but non-interactive, graphic moment) and from here the 12 new single player levels transport you through South American landscapes at a relentless pace. Pyramids, swamps, massive temples with ominous animalistic deities: there is no lack of imagination on show. forests, dungeons, castles, range from the functional to the stunning, and the spell animations are neat; the character models, however, aren't terribly natural or fluid. It's not just about fighting, Lack of depth a problem but with ear-shattering special effects. Alas, this is not a true sequel, more ofa glorified mission pack, but even so it sucks up free time like HG Wells on a Flymo.

The structure is identical to the original game, with much the same circus of grotesquely mutated enemies. Seven have been added plus three new weapons, including an effective flamethrower, which adds variety to the old mix of shooting everything in sight. Gothic lettering on the front. Anyway, once you have got this latest onomastic disaster home and out of its brown paper bag, it is RPG business as usual. You're in charge of a parry of one to four adventurers trying to locate and destroy the titular Pool, which is spreading its evil throughout the land of Faerun.

As is now customary with these things, you have a choice of several classes for your heroes, from dwarven sorcerer to half-ore monk, and can decide how to apportion their "ability points" according to choose how you want them to develop. The backgrounds No second chance turns up the heat in Ghost Recon.