Disney Online has announced that its Pirates of the Caribbean Online game, an MMO based on the successful film franchise, las launched for both PC and Mac platforms. The pirate-themed world offers quests and adventures, customizable pirate avatars, treasure hunts, and lets players captain their own ship and crew with the aim of becoming the most legendary pirate.

Players can also combat with weapons and voodoo magic and recruit each other for pirate crews. The way they describe pirate notoriety, earned by swordfighting and card playing, sounds a bit like Puzzle Pirates.

Along the way, players will interact with characters made popular by the films, like Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, as well as new characters and enemies unique to the game -- another example of popular media receiving a virtual world extension.

Paul Yanover, EVP and managing Director, Disney Online, said, “The launch of Pirates of the Caribbean Online opens up an entirely new world of pirate adventures to thousands of fans who can now play alongside their favorite characters in a fully-immersive environment that builds on and goes beyond the epic stories created in the films.We believe the game’s focus on action and adventure, combined with many customization options will appeal to a broad audience of both gamers and fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as they set out on their own course to live the legend.”