Bethesda's post-nuclear visions for Fallout 3 are apparently so intense that an intelligence services contractor called SITE Intel Group thought that they were images of al Qaeda terrorist fantasies for the fate of Washington.

According to the UK Telegraph, SITE found the Fallout 3 images in a video called "Nuclear Jihad: The Ultimate Terror," posted on two possibly al Qaeda-affiliated, password-protected websites, where it also gleaned chat logs from users discussing nuclear attacks on the West.

SITE primarily monitors possible terrorist communications, activity and propaganda for government, business and media clients. We've contacted them to ask about the mix-up and have not yet received reply. We've also contacted Bethesda to see how they feel about their game images possibly being used as propaganda by terrorists, and are awaiting comment.

In an ironic twist, by the way, SITE is based in Bethesda, MD.

SITE red-faced as Islamist 'Washington ruin' image turns out to be from Fallout 3 game [Telegraph]

WARNING: The following article contains some spoilers.

When I saw Fallout 3 at last year's E3 I thought it looked cool but not being one of the cult of Fallout, I viewed it with the same sort of interest that I do most games I know nothing about: Curious, but not what I would call overly excited. All this changed however, this past Tuesday when I headed downtown to check out the new build of the game that Bethesda was showing off.

From a training system tied to a child's development to the fifties-meets-Steampunk look of weapons, Fallout 3 may not have a solid date yet, but after seeing this build, I can honestly say I am well and truly smitten.

A Texas man, described in television reports as a gamer and out-of-work computer whiz who redesigns video games, received an early morning call from the FBI and Nuclear Regulatory Commission after word got out that he was trying to build a small nuclear reactor in his house.

The feds were alerted after the man blogged that he had some uranium and that the background radiation in his home had doubled.