What does the V hand gesture mean?

I've often seen the American peace sign used in Anime and Manga. But in all of the series I've viewed its called the V sign. What does it mean in your culture?

The V sign was created by the British troops as V for victory in WWll. They would give the fingers to the Germans as they passed by. This came to be used later the same way you would give someone the "bird".
The "peace" sign that they do is just something that is hard wired in the brains of of many Japanese people when it comes to posing for a photo.

The V sign as used in Japan is the "peace" sign.
The rude one EQuinn mentions apparently dates from the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 against the French. The French treatened to cut the bow fingers off any British archer they captured and the symbol comes from after we (The British) won the battle when the archers stuck their fingers up at the defeated French to show they still had them.

During the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, figure skater Janet Lynn stumbled into Japanese pop culture when she fell during a free-skate period�ut continued to smile even as she sat on the ice. Though she placed only third in the actual competition, her cheerful diligence and indefatigability resonated with many Japanese viewers, making her an overnight celebrity in Japan. Afterwards, Lynn (a peace activist) was repeatedly seen flashing the V sign in the Japanese media. Though the V sign was known of in Japan prior to Lynn's use of it there (from the post-WWII Allied occupation of Japan), she is credited by some Japanese for having popularized its use in amateur photographs.[23] According to the other theory (actually present in the Japanese version of this entry), the V sign was popularized by the actor and singer Jun Inoue, who showed it the Conica photo camera commercial in 1972.

Through the 1970s and 1980s in Japan, the V sign was often accompanied by a vocalization: "piisu!" This gairaigo exclamation, which stood for "peace", has since fallen into disuse, though the V sign itself remains steadfastly popular. It is especially popular in photography, as it is a favorite pose of both teens and adults - in Japan, China and elsewhere in Asia.
Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign

I don't think most people will know the entire history, people just do it, because everyone else does it.

When you're taking non formal pictures, its always strange to think "what to do with my hands", I do the V with my fingers with my friends somethings, since, well everyone else does it. I never really paid attention to the "MEANING" of it, nor I doubt most people do. They just do it because its popular culture to do so, rather then making any sort of statement.

i have two little grandchildren(4 and 7) in japan. whenever i take their pictures, even at 2yrs old, they are using the V sign, i am sure they have no idea what it means, it is just something they have seen to do.

...it makes a very big difference if you do it palms out ( victory ) or palms in ( up yours!)