Looks like using computer games to help hack social networks is becoming all the rage these days. Wired is reporting that an Iranian game “designed by schoolchildren belonging to the Union of Islamic Student Societies” is to be released next year:

Rugged veteran Iranian special forces hero “Commander Bahman” will soon be tackling one of his toughest missions, rescuing one of his country’s top atomic scientists captured by U.S. forces in Iraq. […] The Fars news agency said that in the game’s narrative Iranian atomic scientist “Doctor Kousha” goes on a pilgrimage to the Shi’ite Muslim holy city of Kerbala in Iraq where he is seized by U.S. troops.

It seems that this is in direct response to Kuma Reality Games’ release Assault on Iran (otherwise known as Attack On Iran) which, according to GameZone, simulates “what a U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear facilities might look like”, using “declassified documents and the latest thinking of military experts”. A quick look at KumaWar, Kuma Reality Games’s news website, says unambiguously that “Many of the new missions are being developed in cooperation with the U.S. military and soldiers returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

At Kuma, we are very sensitive and respectful of American and coalition soldiers and the sacrifices they are making every day. We hope that by telling their stories with such a powerful medium that we enable the American public to gain a better appreciation of the conflicts and the dangers they face.

Previously, their games covered scenarios in North Korea, deployments along the Mexican border, and missions in Iraq. One of these, Ramadi Convoy Exercise, was designed “in conjunction with the Army’s Combined Arms Support Command.”

The Army provided military insights, helping to ensure the accuracy of the re-creation so it could be used to train U.S. troops. The mission highlights one of the most dangerous and deadly scenarios American soldiers face in Iraq today â?? the IED (Improvised Explosive Device) attack.

“Kuma Reality Games is honored to be working with the U.S. Army,” said Keith Halper, CEO Kuma Reality Games. “We are proud to be of assistance to them, and are excited to also be able to release these missions to our players to give them a real picture of what our soldiers are facing in Iraq every day.”

They also duplicated the battle for Falluja. Major General Thomas L. Wilkerson was on hand “to discuss the strategy behind the fight for control of Fallujah and the importance of profound victory there.” Unfortunately, I could find no reference to the estimated 600 civillians killed, 200,000 refugees who had their homes bombed and suffered from outbreaks of disease, the use of white phosphorous in the city, the shooting of ambulances, the blockade of hospitals, and the arrests (and sometimes killing) of doctors, journalists, and clerics to help secure the “profound victory”.

I wonder if a game showing that would be a big hit? Sadly, it probably would.