Files show agents have deployed real-life agents into World of Warcraft and Second Life. Gamers, what do you want to know? • Join us at 2pm ET | 7pm GMT for our live chat

The NSA and its UK counterpart GCHQ have deployed agents into the massive online gaming community, according to documents disclosed by whistleblower Edward Snowden. The files were obtained by the Guardian and are being published on Monday in partnership with the New York Times and ProPublica.

What you need to know:

An NSA document written in 2008 described gamer communities as under-monitored and called them a "target-rich communications network" where intelligence targets could "hide in plain sight".

written in 2008 described gamer communities as under-monitored and called them a "target-rich communications network" where intelligence targets could "hide in plain sight". The games and systems involved include World of Warcraft, Second Life and the Xbox Live console network, which boasts more than 48 million players.

It's unclear how the agencies accessed gamer data, or how many communications were collected. The NSA has ensured that it was not monitoring innocent Americans whose identity and nationality may have been concealed behind their virtual avatar.

The NSA declined to comment on the surveillance of games. A spokesman for GCHQ said the agency did not "confirm or deny" the revelations.

Have your questions answered:

In partnership with ProPublica, Guardian special projects editor James Ball (@Jamesrbuk) will join ProPublica reporter Justin Elliott (@JustinElliott) and New York Times reporter Mark Mazzetti (@MarkMazzettiNYT) today at 2 pm ET for a discussion on game surveillance.

Submit questions in the comments stream below or on Twitter with the hashtag #SpyGames. We'll curate a few Twitter questions as they pop up: