How an unpaid bill in real life led to massive war with thousands of people fightin in EVE Online A scene from the video game, "EVE Online." Players can explore more than 7,000 virtual star systems, staking claims on territories and resources. Players take time off work to ensure they win the virtual war Like many difficult moments in life, it started with an unpaid bill - and escalated into full-on warfare. But this battle is being played out online, in full 3D graphics, and it involves at least 4,000 players - with thousands more streaming the battle in real-time. It's the gargantuan virtual world of EVE Online, and what started off as a small dispute is now snowballing into one of the biggest online gaming events ever, even spilling over into real life. EVE Online is a Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game - or a MMORPG for short - Set more than 21,000 years in the future, the game uses its own in-game currency, 'ISK'. - Characters pilot customisable ships through a galaxy of over 7,500 star systems. - The star systems can contain moons, planets, stations, wormholes, asteroid belts and complexes. - Players can convert real money into ISK - and tens of millions of dollars have veen spent in the game. Players have won and lost tens of thousands of dollars within a day. - It is 11 years old, first released in May 2003 and has had regular updates ever since. - In February last year, EVE reached over 500,000 subscribers. Eve features more than 500,000 players piloting starships, trading goods and engaging in sci-fi espionage - and sometimes war. And like most conflicts, it started with one person, James Carl, who was asleep when the first shot was fired. As he slumbered away in California on Monday, the 29-year-old banker's virtual space fleet was under siege. The skirmish first erupted after a member of Carl's coalition missed a payment to protect an area that's been used as a staging ground for a war, raging between Carl's Pandemic and N3 coalition versus CFC and Russian forces. EVE Online uses its own in-game currency, and Mr Carl expects the damage from Monday's conflict to equal about $US200,000 ($227,000) in real-world cash. The unpaid bill led to a virtual space battle involving thousands of players with losses equalling more than $150,000 in real-world money. He said dozens of his alliance members took off work to join the fight, which is being waged by more than 4,000 players - and spectated by thousands more on the game streaming service Twitch. The siege on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014 marks the bloodiest battle in the game's 10-year history. But for the moment, he has enough on his hands.