Jean-Marc Steffann, vice-president in charge of Wanadoo's Portals division, said: "Following the success of Dark Age of Camelot, we wanted to publish and operate an innovative and complementary massively multiplayer game across Europe. The rich and highly original content of the Ryzom world made it a natural choice. Both the quality of this game and the proven expertise of Nevrax should consolidate our position as the European leader in this segment."

David COHEN-CORVAL, Chairman of Nevrax, added: "Wanadoo has established itself as a major player in online gaming in Europe, making it an ideal partner for Ryzom. Europe represents an increasingly significant share of the booming online gaming market."

A public trial phase of the game will be unveiled during the second quarter of 2003. Online gamers can get a preview of the Ryzom world at http://www.ryzom-europe.com .

Massively multiplayer games enable several thousand players to participate simultaneously. These games are available only on the Internet, creating "persistent worlds" that change even when players are not connected.