<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Ants	I-Application
was	O
a	O
multiplayer	O
strategy	B-Application
game	I-Application
for	O
2	O
to	O
4	O
players	O
on	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Ants	I-Application
was	O
created	O
in	O
1996	O
as	O
a	O
proprietary	B-Application
game	O
for	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
MSN	B-Protocol
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
MSN	B-Protocol
was	O
the	O
online	O
service	O
that	O
was	O
integrated	O
into	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
could	O
be	O
accessed	O
by	O
selecting	O
the	O
MSN	B-Protocol
icon	O
on	O
the	O
desktop	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
newer	O
versions	O
were	O
released	O
on	O
AOL	O
and	O
Prodigy	O
Internet	O
(	O
an	O
upgraded	O
version	O
of	O
Prodigy	O
)	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
upgraded	O
MSN	B-Protocol
with	O
a	O
new	O
layout	O
powered	O
by	O
ActiveX	B-Application
called	O
"	O
onstage	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
called	O
"	O
Spike	B-Application
's	I-Application
World	I-Application
of	O
Games	O
,	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
Spike	B-Application
's	I-Application
World	I-Application
Online	O
Game	O
Magazine.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Spike	B-Application
's	I-Application
World	I-Application
featured	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Scrawl	O
,	O
a	O
popular	O
game-show	O
type	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
Ants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Ants	I-Application
premiered	O
in	O
early	O
1997	O
as	O
a	O
real-time	O
strategy	B-Application
game	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ants	O
was	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
display	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
technological	O
ability	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
paired	O
for	O
download	O
along	O
with	O
DirectX	B-Application
3	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
Steve	O
Murch	O
,	O
a	O
then-employee	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
convinced	O
Bill	O
Gates	O
to	O
acquire	O
a	O
small	O
online	O
game	O
site	O
(	O
then	O
owned	O
by	O
Electric	B-Application
Gravity	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Joshua	O
Howard	O
,	O
also	O
an	O
employee	O
at	O
Microsoft	O
in	O
what	O
would	O
later	O
be	O
the	O
MSN	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
department	O
,	O
petitioned	O
Microsoft	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
movement	O
of	O
Ants	O
onto	O
their	O
servers	B-Application
a	O
priority	O
,	O
and	O
eventually	O
Ants	O
became	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
games	O
to	O
be	O
tested	O
and	O
officially	O
inducted	O
(	O
though	O
slightly	O
manipulated	O
)	O
into	O
the	O
newly	O
remade	O
Internet	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
late	O
summer	O
of	O
1998	O
,	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
was	O
made	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
MSN	B-Protocol
and	O
was	O
renamed	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
this	O
point	O
,	O
since	O
the	O
"	O
onstage	O
"	O
part	O
of	O
MSN	B-Protocol
and	O
"	O
Spike	B-Application
's	I-Application
World	I-Application
of	O
Games	O
"	O
were	O
gone	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
no	O
way	O
to	O
play	O
Ants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
1998	O
,	O
after	O
several	O
code	O
changes	O
,	O
which	O
included	O
modification	O
to	O
images	O
and	O
existing	O
maps	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
premiered	O
Ants	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
games	O
available	O
to	O
play	O
on	O
its	O
servers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
Ants	O
was	O
officially	O
on	O
Microsoft	O
servers	B-Application
,	O
Joshua	O
Howard	O
left	O
Microsoft	O
to	O
work	O
elsewhere	O
,	O
and	O
would	O
not	O
become	O
involved	O
in	O
Ants	O
again	O
until	O
returning	O
to	O
MSN	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
several	O
years	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ants	O
soon	O
became	O
popular	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
,	O
or	O
as	O
it	O
would	O
become	O
colloquially	O
known	O
-	O
"	O
The	O
Zone	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
due	O
in	O
part	O
,	O
from	O
several	O
fans	O
following	O
the	O
game	O
from	O
its	O
movement	O
from	O
Spike	B-Application
's	I-Application
World	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2001	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
released	O
a	O
new	O
original	O
map	O
,	O
Ocean	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2000	O
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Ants	I-Application
was	O
the	O
target	O
of	O
several	O
hackers	O
,	O
who	O
attempted	O
to	O
breach	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
servers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
2004	O
Joshua	O
Howard	O
announced	O
that	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Ants	I-Application
would	O
eventually	O
be	O
taken	O
off	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
servers	B-Application
,	O
and	O
not	O
released	O
to	O
anyone	O
else	O
or	O
the	O
general	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
moved	O
Ants	O
to	O
a	O
different	O
section	O
of	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Until	O
January	O
2006	O
,	O
Ants	O
still	O
remained	O
on	O
Microsoft	O
servers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
users	O
being	O
booted	O
offline	O
,	O
lagged	O
,	O
hung	O
up	O
,	O
frozen	O
,	O
or	O
attacked	O
,	O
many	O
Ants	O
players	O
left	O
to	O
find	O
other	O
sites	O
to	O
spend	O
their	O
time	O
on	O
;	O
or	O
migrated	O
to	O
other	O
games	O
on	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Zone	I-Application
with	O
less	O
frequent	O
interruptions	O
from	O
Denial	O
of	O
Service	O
attacks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
users	O
also	O
had	O
issues	O
when	O
using	O
internet	O
routers	O
with	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Ants	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
not	O
designed	O
nor	O
coded	O
for	O
the	O
new	O
wave	O
of	O
cable	O
and	O
DSL	O
connections	O
with	O
people	O
sharing	O
their	O
connection	O
,	O
the	O
actual	O
computer	O
name	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
signed-on	O
MSN/Passport	O
name	O
would	O
appear	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
start	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
