It's no secret how much the Chinese gamer loves to get online, and the race has been on for quite some time to launch the first mobile MMO in the country that boasts the largest collective of mobile phone users in the world.

On September 10th, KongZhong, a developer of wireless media and services, launched its online mobile gaming platform. The Chinese government is still quite strict regarding testing and propriety of online content, but finally gave the company's Tien Jie Online (this reporter has a smattering of Mandarin, and believes the game's name translates as 'Connect to Heaven') title the go ahead.

And with over two million gamers already signed up during the beta testing phase, Tien Jie Online looks set to become quite the gaming phenomenon.

Adopting the free-to-play but pay-for-items online gaming model, it's unclear whether this mobile MMO will meet the same government imposed playing time restrictions other online titles have been subjected to. It'd definitely be a difficult restriction to enforce, considering the roaming nature of the game's platform, however.

Other mobile MMOs are also in rapid development, with another Kongzhong development, Three Kingdoms Online, currently entering the testing phase. Assuming it passes, the Chinese pocket gamer can expect it to launch on September 25th.