Entropia Universe, which claims to be the 'safest' virtual world based on a real cash economy, has signed a licensing agreement to use the cutting edge CryEngine 2 game engine from German developer Crytek.

Crytek is responsible for the much acclaimed Far Cry and is using the engine in the upcoming Crysis.

Entropia said that the deal will make its universe potentially the most realistic looking massively multiplayer online game ever seen.

The company expects to finish the transition to an Entropia Universe platform built around this new technology by mid-2008, when it will be made available to all Entropia Universe partners.

Jan Welter Timkrans, chief executive at MindArk, which overseas the development of the virtual world, said: "The upgrade of Entropia Universe will be built around the spectacular features supplied by CryEngine 2, offering a complete and immersive experience to Entropia participants.

"It will create synergies between the proven and safe real cash economy backbone, the Entropia storyline with colonists fighting to establish a new world, and the very life-like visuals supplied from CryEngine 2.

"When we saw what the engine was capable of, we immediately understood that it would be perfect for Entropia, as MindArk and Crytek are pioneers in their respective fields."

However, Avni Yerli, managing director of Crytek, hinted at the heavy duty nature of the gaming platform.

"It will expose a new audience to the stunningly realistic graphics, environmental physics and believable animations which are made possible by CryEngine 2 together with some of the most recent advances in PC hardware and operating systems."