ABSTRACT
Online computer gaming is an enormously popular pastime for Asian teenagers and young adults, with multiple-player online games winning the hearts of players but not the trust of parents or the general public. In addition to usual rhetoric around the addictive qualities of computer games, online gaming also entails personal interactions and resource exchanges among strangers, which can be viewed as creating a public image of virtual worlds replete with risks and uncertainties. From the perspective of game companies, the community-oriented nature of multiple-player online games (MMOs) is increasingly viewed as the foundation for commercial success.1 MMOs highlight the social and cultural dimensions of game play as well as demonstrating the active role players take in the creation, recreation and dynamics of the game space. This has made MMOs a plentiful site for considering the relationship between online and offl ine gaming communities.
