Launched in 1997, UO was a pioneer in the world of online gaming and defined the category of massively multiplayer Internet-based entertainment and is still recognized as the most immersive of any online world. Ultima Online currently has 225,000 subscribers and is played in more than 130 countries located in every time zone. Over the last five years, UO has been at the center of the real world meeting the virtual one. For example, in 1999, two UO accounts sold for $3,000 each on Ebay, marking the first game to have a virtual property sale on the popular online auction site. In addition, several real-life couples have met and fallen in love playing UO worlds apart from each other. A few of these long distance romances even blossomed into marriage.
News source: WorthPlaying.com
