The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has developed its first online military game to improve combat skills and technological awareness.

The Glorious Mission sets the player as a soldier with the PLA ground force.

The first-person shooter game has three models - basic training, single missions and team combat. Players can opt for single combat or be part of a group of 32 players, divided into two groups, who take on and defeat opponents.

As a new recruit a player will have to go through basic training and then receive professional indoctrination and instruction.

On completion, their combat capability will be enhanced and they will enter the "exciting life of the military", according to an earlier report by the PLA Daily.

The game, described by the China Software Testing Center as the "first large local area network (LAN) military game that has full intellectual property rights in China", was co-developed by Nanjing Military Command and Wuxi Giant Network Technology Inc in Jiangsu province.

All of the game's weapons and equipment are part of the PLA's weaponry, including the Type 99 main battle tank, the ZBD2000 amphibious fighting vehicle and the J-10 multi-role jet fighter.

The program can simulate various weather conditions and accurately portray battle situations, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Experts at the Nanjing Military Command analyzed 34 military games and organized more than 30 symposiums to discuss the program's design and development.

After 32 months of development and tests, the final version was released on June 20 with many Chinese experts praising it as "a breakthrough in military games and a pioneering work in the cyber-game industry".