In the real world, the farther away an object is, the slower it seems to move. (That is why the horizon appears motionless, and is reassuring to look at during a bout of seasickness.) This means that shrinking a virtual scene, which makes it look farther away, also makes it appear to move more slowly.

ECONOMIST: Vertigo

Law-enforcement officers continued to work feverishly in the ER as well, turning it into a virtual crime-scene investigation.

WSJ: Emily Loving Aaronson: On the Front-Lines of Battlefield Triage in Boston

In case you haven't been following the virtual rock and roll scene lately, videogame publisher Red Octane recently revealed that there would be no wireless ax for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II -- even though owners of a "last-gen" console, PlayStation 2, will be able to jam out sans tether.

ENGADGET: Report: Microsoft not down with third-party 360 wireless peripherals

Trainees see and hear the virtual world from their own point of view, whether peering out from behind a wall or approaching the scene in a helicopter.

ECONOMIST: Monitor