Win cash prizes playing virtual tennis

French sports MMO Empire of Sports is offering cash prizes to players participating in a tennis tournament timed to coincide with the current Australian Open.

The free-to-play game launched the "Kangaroo Open" yesterday, and it will run for two weeks until February 1st. It consists of three series - Amateur, Experienced and Pro - ensuring that new players have a chance to take part.

Players ranked 1 to 15 in tennis can win a first prize of EUR 750 / GBP 675 or a Justine Henin cap in the Amateur tournament. In-game rewards come in the form of tennis ranking points.

Players ranked 16 to 30 can compete for a EUR 1000 / GBP 900 cash prize and a signed Henin t-shirt in the Experienced series, while Pros (rank 31 and above) can win EUR 1500 / GBP 1350 and a signed Justine Henin racket.

Here's the catch - entry fees, ranging from 3 to 9 euros depending on the series. You can enter at any time during the tournament, however.

Empire of Sports is technically incomplete and still in beta - or "private launch", as the developer F4 prefers to call it - but the tennis game was the earliest to be finished, and we enjoyed it quite a lot when we tried it early last year.

You can register and download the game for free at the Empire of Sports website.