The game, based on the "Matrix" movies, is about a world where machines have enslaved mankind. To battle the machines, rebellious humans enter a simulated world called the Matrix, where they lose much of their ability to contact fellow humans.
"Matrix Online" is what is known as a "massively multiplayer" title, an online game that can support thousands of players in what amounts to a self-contained virtual world.
Players will be able to keep their in-game identities separate from their regular or instant-messenger personas, AOL said, by linking their in-game name to their instant-messenger screen name.
When players sign in to the messenger service, "buddies" they have made from within the game will see their in-game name, rather than their regular AOL or AIM identity.
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