Online games are the future chat rooms
So you thought that online role-playing gam3s were all about the "loud noises, fast action or computer characters"? Well, think again. Nowhere in the world are massive online role-playing gam3s more popular than in South Korea (where an estimated 2/3 of all households have a broadband connection). Turns out the that players are actually very eager to meet each other. In fact, "the gam3s are revved-up, visually enhanced internet chat rooms."
Article from The Economist

One of the leading developers is NC Soft- headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. "Established in 1997, NCsoft has quickly come to the forefront of the online games industry and has helped put Korea on the map as a major industry player. In Asia, its blockbuster hit game, Lineage, hosts more than three million subscribers and more than three hundred thousand concurrent users."
More information about NCsoft