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online game is a video game played over some form of computer
network, using a personal computer, video game console or
handheld game console. This network is usually the internet or
equivalent technology, but games have always used whatever
technology was current: modems before the Internet, and hard
wired terminals before modems. The expansion of online gaming
has reflected the overall expansion of computer networks from
small local networks to the internet and the growth of internet
access itself. Online games can range from simple text based
environments to games incorporating complex graphics and virtual
worlds populated by many players simultaneously. Many online
games have associated online communities, making online games a
form of social activity beyond single player games. "Online
gaming is a technology rather than a genre, a mechanism for
connecting players together rather