IBM plans million-player computer games

IBM is using its grid computing concept to build million-player video games through a partnership with start-up company, Butterfly.net.

The new project aims to use grid computing software to build massive artificial game worlds which can accommodate millions of users on a single virtual server.

Current online adventure games have to be hosted on separate servers, with limited interaction between the parts of the world hosted on each server.

Butterfly.net will host the system on IBM eServer xSeries systems running a Linux operating system, linked together on internal fibre-optic networks.

IBM's concept of grid computing seeks to link computers in remote locations into massive networks using open source software.

These networks become a massively powerful computing resource. Earlier grid projects have used redundant computing capacity in internet-connected PCs for various causes, including fighting cancer and looking for extra-terrestrial life.