The long digital arm of the law.

Not only is the digital stratisphere a place where business can flourish through expert digital PR and marketing but it is yet another place to search out the bad guys.  The FBI, for example, is willing to do just about anything to hunt down those lawbreakers who are floating around on the internet. They did the widgets thing last year and recently have announced that they have “set up shop in several social media websites.”

The FBI now has profiles on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, but no mention of MySpace as yet. A spokeperson from the FBI revealed that, “we have widget(s) that work but nothing formal yet. Its a long vetting process and I have so many government rules to follow. This is just the beginning though.”

Alongside this, their Most Wanted List and a list of the most recently commited crimes will be published in a matter of minutes online and on electronic billboards along major roadways. Advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor is also donating the eight-second slots which will also feature photographs of missing children, “creating an environment where the criminal feels they have nowhere to hide” explains Jeff Golimowski, spokesman for Outdoor Advertising Association of America.

Online tracking is another aspect of this crack down, with the recent accusations made by the FBI of Twitter’s use of ”massacre threats.” An Oklahoma man who allegedly threatened on Twitter to turn a tax protest into a massacre was arrested on suspicion of making threats in what is believed to be the first federal prosecution based on posts made to the micro-blogging site.

In conjunction with this, the U.S intelligence community has expressed concern that terrorists may use Twitter to coordinate attacks, examining the possible ways terrorists can exploit mobile and web technologies such as the Global Positioning System, digital maps, and Twitter mashups to plan and execute terrorist attacks.