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TAIWAN FUN MAGAZINE, February 2003.

       People love to play games ¡V it¡¦s in our genes. For thousands of years, people in every corner of the world have invented games to entertain themselves and each other and to compete and win prizes. Games have evolved from those that use sticks, hoops and stones to an unbelievable variety of ball games, cards, board games, organized sports and more recently computer video games.

       If you like playing games, you¡¦re in luck. People today have the opportunity to play a staggering number of games any minute of the day and with people anywhere on the planet and they don¡¦t even have to leave their home to find them. Just get online and visit any number of gaming sites that offer games 24-7-365 ¡V play by yourself or with people elsewhere in Taiwan or in other countries.

       It used to be if you wanted to play a game, you had to go out of your way to find someone to play with. Walk to the park for a game of chess. And it was even more challenging when the game you wanted to play required four or more people. Then you had to call all your friends to organize a game of poker or mahjong. If your friends couldn¡¦t make the game, you were stuck playing solitaire all night.

       With the development of online gaming, those days are gone. You can play games when you wake up in the morning, during your lunch break or into the wee hours of the night. If you like solitaire, you can play it online. But you can also play games that require more people such as poker, mahjong and a jillion other games, not to mention PC games and now console games such as PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox.

       Most portal websites such as MSN and Yahoo offer online gaming areas. Other sites are focused purely on sports and gaming. For example, sites like Sportingbet.com and sb28.com offer a wide variety of games, including sports gaming, blackjack, roulette and slot machines. It¡¦s like having Las Vegas or a London bookie in your living room.

       The Internet offers literally thousands of games to suit all tastes and interests ¡V some for free and some for a fee. So get online and get gaming. Just don¡¦t let your boss catch you at the roulette wheel!

       Darby is a consultant for Upstream Asia, a public relations/marketing consultancy which provides communications, brand development and events management to tech-driven companies in Asia Pacific. For more information on Upstream Asia, visit www.upstreamasia.com.