Google developing online version of Monopoly

Google will be working with giant toy company Hasbro to produce a spectacular online version of Monopoly, say reports. The game uses Google Maps as a board, allowing players to choose from millions of streets worldwide in their bid to become virtual property tycoons.

The rules are almost the same as the traditional board game, where only one person can buy an address, and then build on the plot to earn extra rent and increase their fortune.

However, the online version also lets players build skyscrapers, football stadiums, and other buildings as well as the usual houses and hotels. And the 'chance' cards give players the chance to ruin rivals by building prisons, rubbish dumps and sewage works on their streets.

Players start with three million Monopoly dollars, with Downing Street costing 231,000 dollars, and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, where the White House stands, costing two million dollars.

Rent is paid automatically each day, from 50,000 dollars for a house to 100 million dollars for a skyscraper.

The free game, which has no real cash prize, is being run to promote the new 3D Monopoly City game. "It's a chance to escape the harsh reality of recession and enjoy building up an empire," the Sun quoted Hasbro as saying.