Blizzard banishes more than 5,400 WOW-ers

With World of Warcraft's subscriber base approaching 7 million, journalists often point out that the game's population exceeds that of many countries. And, like any territory, WOW's fictional realm of Azeroth has crime--crime that Blizzard Entertainment is cracking down on. Today, the developer announced the latest series of banishments from the massively popular massively multiplayer role-playing game. More than 5,400 players were banned, and more than 10,700 were suspended "for participating in activities that violate the game's Terms of Use, including using third-party programs to farm gold and items."