London cabbies take to the streets in game of Monopoly

An online monopoly game was launched today to advertise the revamped board game.

For a month until midnight on 18th July, people all over Britain can compete against each other on a daily basis, playing Monopoly Live on a life-size playing board - the streets of London.

The idea behind the online game was to get people more aware of the changes to the original board game which has looked the same since it was created 70 years ago.

Players register free at the website here They are given a £15 million capital to spend on properties such as Gatwick Airport or Nottinghill Gate. They then put hotels and houses on their chosen properties. They then pick their playing piece, such as a mobile phone or bus as well as one of the 18 cabbies taking part in the game. The computer then pits them against five other people and it's game on.

The taxis, which are fitted with a GPS transmitter so their locations are always known, drive around London as normal, picking up and dropping off passengers.

Players pay out rent as their taxi passes properties they don't own, and receive rent in turn when other cabs pass areas that they do. However there is no passing Go for £2 million in this game because the players are at the mercy of the taxi passengers so they don't go around the board as in a normal game.

To give themselves extra help people can also get can sign up to receive Community Chest and Chance bonuses via SMS. The Sun newspaper will also publish bonuses. Updates are emailed to players every 15 minutes on how much money they are making or losing

Each game lasts 24 hours and winners are notified by email. Players can participate in the next day's game either by sending an SMS, email or logging on to the site again. They can also choose to keep their cabbie and properties or sell and buy new ones on the board.

There are daily and weekly prizes to play for, and the grand prize winner will get their mortgage or rent paid for a year.