> This idea is nothing new. In one of the star-trek episodes this was the theme, the only difference there was a real human was sacrificed for each virtual huma

> This idea is nothing new. In one of the star-trek episodes this was the theme, the only difference there was a real human was sacrificed for each virtual human lost! Surface Detail by Iain M Banks also explores this idea. That novel also goes through the obvious problems -- you have to trust that the virtual outcome will actually be accepted, and that the conflict won't bleed out into the real. And at the point at which you have that trust in your opponent would you really be having a war in the first place? It is a nice idea though, shame it's unlikely to ever become a reality.