Second Life griefers claim responsibility for Edwards vandalism

Looks like the vandals who attacked Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards' campaign headquarters in Second Life with vulgar animations and images weren't cyber-Republicans, as previously assumed. According to a report from 10 Zen Monkeys that was sent to CNET News.com by a tipster, the vandalism appears to have been the work of a griefing brigade that repeatedly launches naughty antics throughout the virtual world.

A representative of the griefing team--which has a penchant for "videotaping" its pranks, setting them to music, and posting them on YouTube--claimed responsibility for the incident in a comment on Edwards' official blog. In the poster's words, the group "simply did it for the lulz." ("Lulz" appears to be a derivation of "lolz," which is in turn derived from the Internet shorthand "LOL" or "laughing out loud," which you have likely heard of unless you've been living under a rock.)

One of the group's apparent favorite weapons is the "Mario Mosh Pit," a barrage of cartoon Marios that was launched against the Second Life Liberation Army headquarters last week.