Going live this spring, Sony Online Entertainment's next massive multiplayer computer game, “Free Realms,” is letting gamers sign up now to be one of the first to play inside this virtual world.

From the same publisher that introduced “EverQuest,” one of the first successful online-only role-playing games, “Free Realms” will be a free, family-friendly PC game that supports thousands of simultaneous players.

It combines fantasy with reality -- you can be a wizard or a mail carrier, for example -- and it folds in social networking features, too. You can set out on a lengthy adventure with other players or simply hang out, play mini-games or decorate your cyber home.

How can it be free, you ask? Not unlike a site like Club Penguin, players pay a few bucks a month for added functionality, including items for your “home” (à la "micro transactions"). Plus, there will be a few ads in the online world, which will be disabled if you decide to pay for the premium account, says Sony Online Entertainment.

Sony Online Entertainment and The Topps Company have also announced a physical trading card game based on “Free Realms,” a complement to the game's digital trading card game.