By Billy Teo

YOU can soon get your online soccer kicks by challenging other football fans for free.

The new EA Sports Fifa Online 2 game - for Windows PCs only - will be free-to-play, which means you don't need to spend a single cent to kick off.

The new season will start soon: IAHGames will release the game officially in October.

It is literally a game of two halves.

The first half is a football action game that you can quickly dive into.

Your keyboard-mashing dexterity will come into play, to determine how well you can tackle your online opponents.

EXCITING AMBIENCE

The atmosphere is pretty much like the console game versions, complete with running match commentary, roaring crowds and 'kayu' referees dishing out dubious red cards.

The other half is more like a team managerial game - where you can fill the shoes of say, Alex Ferguson and treat your star strikers as slaves.

One of the main attractions of the game will be the availability of real-world soccer stars - from a field of 10,000 professionals in all - from 33 licensed football leagues of the world, including the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga.

So yes, you can more or less pick from the likes of Chelsea, Man U and Barcelona - although you need a fair bit of experience points and game rewards to get the best players to play at their best.

Like most online multiplayer games, Fifa Online 2 will reward the consistent folks who play regularly in the form of experience points that allow you to 'level up' your players and rank up in the league standings.

Of course, expect to pay for little perks that jazz up your game, like goal-scoring celebratory animations, team kits, and performance and skill boosters.

Prices are expected to be similar to the going rate in Korea, which ranges from 100 won ($0.13) for boosters to enhance individual players, to about 39,000 won ($51) for a squad of 11 star players.

PAY IN CONVENIENT WAYS

Gamers will likely be able to pay for the micro-transactions in several convenient ways, using prepaid cards, credit cards or even through an SMS gateway.

Singapore and Thailand will be the first two countries in the world to experience the game - aside from Korea, where more than 5 million gamers succumbed to the charms of the original Fifa Online back in 2006.

If you consider yourself a soccer fan, don't pass on Fifa Online 2.

You can register at www.EAsportsFIFAonline2.com for a shot at the Closed Beta for Fifa Online 2, which will be available from 5 Aug onwards.

This article was first published in The New Paper on 24 July 2008.