What is a MMORPG? In short it is a massive multi-player online role playing game.

Online gaming has continued to increase in popularity. So much so that gaming income is now greater than the income earned by Hollywood. The future of entertainment is no longer in the hands of the pretty people from Hollywood but is more likely to be determine at the hands of the geeks and nerds working on the next big computer game.

MMORPG's are played online, 24 hours a day throughout the world and now have millions of players - massive is the only correct word for them.

Many people would have become aware of the world of online gaming through parodies in tradition forms of media, newspaper, television and movies. Perhaps one of the most popular was South Parks take on World of Warcraft which poked fun at the addictive nature of world of warcarf and MMORPG's, yet also paid homage to the power in the world of entertainment.

World of Warcraft or WoW is a complete online fantasy world - a bit like the old dungeons and dragons on steroids. You can take on the character of one of eight races and even within that there is further choices like a wizard/mage, warrior, paladin and the list go on. So popular has these games become that their is a demand for provision of some of the supplies in the game - namely Gold. So much so that people in China are making a living playing online 12 hours a day and selling the 'earned' Gold to Gold hungry players in the US, Japan and Europe. How much money potential is there in online games - well WoW has 8.5 million players each paying a monthly fee of $9.95 a month to play means someone or some company is a billionaire.

The addictive nature of these games is so dangerous that people have died as a result of playing for too long. In S.Korea they estimate 10 deaths a year - mainly for a person playing online for 80 hours straight and developing deep vein thrombosis - i.e. dying from blood clots. A word of caution if you love playing online games, in fact if you love the internet, get up every hours and go for a walk or do a short set of exercises.

The are numerous companies willing to jump on the bandwagon with so much money at stake. Another popular program is second life. Second life is literally that - it offers you a second life. Some people find their own real life so suckie that they get online where there life can be as they imagine they want it. Second life is interesting in that it has even created an online currency - Linden dollars - which exchange with real currency - $L 270 to $1 USD. Some people are so successful at there online fantasy businesses 'malls, casinos, shops, nightclubs' that they are earning thousands in REAL money. Where these fantasy economies will lead the real financial system has yet to be determine.

These online worlds are only likely to multiple as the graphics and experience becomes more realistic. Where this will lead only time will tell. Maybe your child's future job will be in a fantasy world? Maybe your next partner will be meet online? Maybe your television will become a unused out of date piece of entertainment?