Wizards of the Coast has announced an online version of Magic: The Gathering, its popular fantasy trading card game. The tabletop version of the game has an active base of more than 6 million players around the world, making it the most widely played trading card game. The game has more than 80,000 official tournaments each year. In the game, players assemble decks of cards, each representing creatures with differing abilities. They then battle one another by using their decks.

　　Magic: The Gathering Online will let players purchase digital cards, trade them with other players, and build their decks on their PCs. It will also let players easily find other players to battle online. The game will feature a variety of game rooms designed for different player levels, as well as practice rooms and tutorials.

　　Magic: The Gathering Online is in development at Maryland-based Leaping Lizard Software and it is scheduled for release in spring 2002. A beta test for the game is planned for later this fall. For more information, visit the official Web sites of Leaping Lizard and Wizards of the Coast.