SOCOM 3's use of Bangladesh causes international row

Government officials in Bangladesh are considering launching a lawsuit against Sony for branding the country a "terrorist state", according to a report on bangladesh-web.com.

A government source told the website that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to contact Sony shortly, requesting that Bangladesh be dropped from the game. A copy of the request will be sent to the Amercian Chamber of Commerce and the US embassy in Dhaka.

SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs, a tactical shooter which puts the player in the role of US military operative, is due for release on PS2 this autumn. The game features combat missions set in Poland and Morocco, as well as Bangladesh.

"Sony has no doubt intended to malign Bangladesh," the source said. "We expect that the company will drop the name of Bangladesh before the launch of the game."

However, if the company's response is not satisfactory, he went on, the government will sue.

Such an action would be supported by the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services, according to BASIS president Sarwar Alam. "We should voice a strong protest against the move," he said.

"Any company can develop games for entertainment of any kind, but not by maligning any country."

His views were supported by Akteruzzaman Manju, president of the Internet Service Providers' Association of Bangladesh, who described Sony's actions in placing Bangladesh in the game as "tech-terrorism".

"Sony should [offer an] apology as it will never be able to prove that Bangladesh is, or was, a terrorist country," Manju said, before adding that the government should ban the game.

Sony was not available for comment at the time of writing. It is not yet known whether Poland and Morocco are also narked.