Hello there. Let me introduce myself and the "world" I live in. I am a thirty something woman, the mother of 2 sons, a new media entrepeneur, a media artist, a student of computer science and also...

...Also an inhabitant of a world somewhere out there in cyberspace. A world known to many as Ultima Online. For me it is the home of my virtual persona. A place where I meet my friends and relax in my free time. It's a place to get away from it all. The feelings you feel there are very real. When you are scared your hands tremble, when happy you actually laugh out loud to the wonderment of your family members. And yes, you will have bad experiences there also, ones which will have you feeling grumpy for the rest of the evening. Ultima Online has all the ingredients of a virtual world and a damn good game all rolled into one. Not only can you build you own house, furnish it with furniture you made yourself, have a profession, but you can also hunt treasures, defeat horrible monsters, solve puzzles and partake in quests - just to name a few. I think that perhaps the greatest thing about UO is that in addition to the in game challenges that have been set up for the players you are given the tools and setting to create your own challenges. There are so many ways to play UO that if you get bored there, you have only yourself to blame for lack of imagination.

UO is a virtual world, not a game. It cannot be saved, it cannot be deleted. It lives. Towns are alive with the hustle and bustle of any real town. People are there getting killed, being born, adventuring, selling, buying and a mllion other things. Right now. As you read this. Every time you enter this world something has changed, you see someone new, you experience the unexpected. You cannot know what will happen to you when you log on. Thats what keeps you coming back.

So how did I get involved with UO? I had been a great fan of the Ultima games preceding the launch of UO. My addiction for these games had been intense. I would have dreams of my Avatar walking through caverns, awaking necromancers and chopping skeletons into bits. If it had been that bad, what would it be like with UO, a place where all those town folk were actually real living people!? I knew I must avoid this game at all costs and even succeeded in doing so for a couple of years. Then over the summer of 1999 my RL and online friends Karenina and Lina started playing and after enough encouragment got me to finally buy the game as well. So on the 27th of August 1999 it started, and there has been no turning back.

I write this now after playing for 1½ years and I can truly say: The best game there ever was. This game has provided me with more thrills, joys, frights and surprises than all the others put together. I now have 2 accounts and 10 characters and still have not seen even half of what this game has to offer. It delights me each time I discover something new, there is so much out there that it is mind boggling. And the developers keep bringing us new content. So the discoveries are never ending.

Perhaps now you are wondering how you can join in on the fun? Ultima Online is a game that must be bought from the stores, just like any other games. It cannot be played offline. In addition to the price of the game package you get the first month free to evaluate whether this is for you. After that you must pay $10 monthly to continue playing. This is what usually turns people off. Well, think about it. What can you get with $10 in one month? A movie at the cinema? A small bag of groceries? A couple of magazines? When I think about how many hours of pleasure and enjoyment I get from UO each month, $10 seems like nothing. But I don't think I would pay any more, merely from the ethical point of view. Besides, that money is being put to good use. As I said before, the game developers are working on the game constantly to improve it, arrange exciting events, bring new aspects to it. Also Game Masters are hired to help you online, in the game itself if you encounter problems.