OMG, they killed Kenny! You B@st@rd$ !

Life and death. Its part and parcel of our existence. We face it everyday and in essence, most games revolve around this concept. Characters in games often die to be revived later on (either via save game or respawn mechanism). After a while, dying in a game doesn't seem that much of a big deal any more (other than the loss of gold/currency/items).
However what happens when real-life deaths cross the threshold and into the game realm? There have been several cases where the gamers themselves have met with unfortunate demise and in turn, their ongame characters are no longer "alive". A common response to this now has seen friends made online and real life friends hold memorial services for their fallen comrade in the game itself. Some game companies create game items to immortalise their clients/customers/fans.

Someone should do a study or paper that investigates and research on life and death between the real world and the game world. Interesting no?