Total Entertainment Network (TEN) is undergoing some changes, which it says are designed to "immediately propel the company to the forefront of the mass market for online computer gaming."

　　The company rolled out TEN 2.0, a Java-based technology, which its says will provide "an easy-to-use environment for online gameplay."

　　TEN also announced an "exclusive content partnership" with WebDeck software, which develops online editions of classic board and card games. WebDeck's first games developed for TEN - Euchre, Hearts and Spades - are already available, while Chess, Checkers, Crossword and Word Search will come online within the next four to six weeks.

　　TEN said it plans to "shortly announce" a strategic partnership with a developer of online recreational games to develop original Java-based games for TEN's online service.

　　The company also announced agreements with both Excite and Infoseek where will TEN provide those sites with what Excite is calling an online game "channel" and Infoseek is calling an online game service. Infoseek users initially will have free unlimited access to seven board and card games from TEN's site. Excite's game area beginning on Wednesday will feature such card games including Euchre, Hearts and Spades, using TEN's technology.

　　"The combination of an easy-to-use Java technology solution, familiar games and wide distribution is a unique offering designed to attract large audiences to the online game experience," said Erick Hachenburg, TEN president and CEO. "With the broadest reach of any online games service, we look forward to expanding our content offering by adding more recreational games specifically developed for the mass market."