Peddling fantasy.

Peddling Fantasy: Sony Online Entertainment has given fans of its online fantasy game EverQuest another world to explore. Early this month the company put "Lost Dungeons of Norrath" on store shelves, at a suggested retail price of $30.

EverQuest is called a "massively multi player game" since it lets many players who are widely separated interact in a common place--a fictional land called Norrath. Sony links all those people with its computer servers in the Miramar area of San Diego. Access to the servers is by subscription. It costs $13 per month.

During peak periods Sony has 118,000 people tapping into its servers. It claims a subscriber base of 430,000.

Sony bills its newest game as a "classic dungeon crawl," though it doesn't make a direct reference to "Dungeons and Dragons." That name is licensed to competitor Atari.

Sony Online Entertainment is an arm of Sony Pictures. In addition to its San Diego headquarters, Sony Online has studios in Austin, Texas, and St. Louis.

Sony Online has been at work on other projects:

* In June it released the massively multiplayer "Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided." Inspired by the "Star Wars" movies. the game is a joint project with San Rafael-based Lucas Arts.

* It is still at work on an improved game called Everquest II, though its launch has been pushed back to 2004.

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