Golem

Golem: n. a human image brought to life; a robot; a shapeless thing
Golem, a five-part series written jointly by three authors, has been called a " funny, scary and streetwise techno-thriller". I'm half-way through the second book and I must keep reading ...
The series hosts a multitude of characters whose perceptions of the "golem" phenomenon all differ and overlap. There's Majid, who began it all by winning a state-of-the-art computer, his English teacher and part-time computer gamer who helps him instal it, the year 8 class with it's usual ratbags and the residents of Hummingbird Tower. Golem appears to be a pirate game which installs itself on Majid's new computer and lures the player into the game only to shut down abruptly just when it gets interesting. The many story threads include mysterious events in the basement of Hummingbird Tower, sinister characters who must have Majid's computer, an inexplicable attraction to a product called "farting goo". There's a great scene in the school library when all the computers become "infected" with the Golem virus, to the consternation of Miss Minx, the school librarian. It's far too much to talk about here, and anyway this is keeping me from reading. Check out the website. And here's a reader review.