Play while you work

PMOG www.bud.com

Initially funded by the BBC to explore the ability of passive games to teach web literacy, PMOG turns web browsing into an online RPG. By installing a small plug-in for Firefox, it keeps track of every website you visit and awards experience points for each unique site you visit per day. As you gain levels, it categorises your browsing habits. Do you spend most of your time reading Wikipedia, or mostly post to social networking sites? PMOG knows, and your character class changes accordingly.

There's even the ability to create your own quests: chains of websites that must be visited to gain experience and which serve to teach the player something. The "Cookies!" quest, for example, guides you through the stories of four famous cookie recipes.