The game has no age limit and registration is free. Players get a bare-bodied online character, or 'minx', that looks androgynous.

Players are required to design and 'style' their minxes with virtual outfits, from sexy lingerie to over-the-top dresses, and outdo one another by buying virtual orphans named after children already adopted by real-life celebrities.

Related link: » Raunchy online game upsets parents "

They then take on rival minxes in 'style off' contests, where votes - based on the accessories and orphans amassed - are cast by fellow players.

There is no prize for being a winner, just recognition.

The first 1,000 'pink pounds', the in-world currency, are free. When players run out of this virtual cash, they can top up their accounts using PayPal or credit cards, or by charging to their landlines or cellphones.

Landline users will be guided to dial a phone number, which varies depending on where the player resides. Callers pay for the international call as well as a fee of US$3 (S$4) for 1,710 pink pounds.

PayPal and credit card users pay US$4.99 for 4,990 pink pounds.

Those who charge to their cellphones pay US$1.07 for 140 pink pounds as well as a text message fee of S$1.

Another way to earn pink pounds is to 'find' a generous lover, an accessory in the game, when the minxes go drinking and clubbing.

Players click on the photos of men until one accepts the player. Players earn 50 pink pounds with each acceptance.

Advanced-level players may be urged to have sex with many partners. They respond to the invite by buying virtual contraceptives - condoms and 'anti-baby pills'.

These contraceptives can boost a minx's IQ score - crucial for levelling up a player's standing.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.