Sex in video games began around 1973, when Atari released Gotcha. This controversial arcade game replaced the phallic joystick control with two pink breast-like rubber trackballs.

In the late-1970s, MUDS (Multi-User Dimensions) hit the scene, combining role-playing with the first instant messenger chat rooms. SHADES, a commercial MUD released around 1984, included private chat rooms where online sex took place. SHADES set the scene for the sex found in present-day massive multiplayer games like Second Life.

We recently spoke with Brenda Brathwaite, a gaming developer and the author of "Sex in Video Games," a book released this fall, to get the lowdown.

The following are a few of the highlights ­– or lowlights – of this rich and tawdry history.

In this game, set in a bar, casino and disco, the player works to seduce three different virtual women.

Created by Sierra On-Line, this text game was “wretchedly cheesy,” a predecessor to similar sex games with humorous content and a loose story line.

The player assumes the role of General Custer in an interpretation of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, racing through a field of arrows to a Native American maiden at the finish.

The game was created by Mystique, a company that went on to release a series of pornographic video games.

Leisure Suit Larry is a short, balding, lovable loser, looking for love from attractive women. The object is to get him out of trouble while attempting to seduce beautiful women.

Sierra On-Line released the first game of the series, Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, in 1987. Subsequent games with the same title character have been released. Leisure Suit Larry: Cocoa Butter will be released for both the PS2 and X-box platforms this year.

MOOs are text-based online virtual reality communities, which many users access at the same time. LambdaMOO, created by Pavel Curtis, is the oldest and most active MOO today, with 3,000 members.

This network gained notoriety when Julian Dibbell published an article, “A Rape in Cyberspace,” in the Village Voice in 1993. The article details the use of a “voodoo doll” program by a Mr. Bungle, who took control of other users’ virtual bodies.

The article launched a debate about the intersection of real life and virtual reality, and was later included in Dibbell’s book about LambdaMOO, "My Tiny Life," in 1999.

Night Trap was the first game to use video. It featured players at a slumber party trying to protect scantily clad co-eds from vampire-like creatures.

This game, along with Mortal Kombat, led to congressional hearings in the 90s that established the first game ratings systems by the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) and other groups. Night Trap is rated 'Mature,' or 17+, by the ESRB.

In this adventure game released by Rockstar Games, the player reestablishes a street gang to avenge his mother’s murder.

In 2005, an additional piece of software named ‘Hot Coffee,’ was secretly embedded in the game. This software contained hidden sexual content.

The discovery of this mini-game sparked huge controversy. The game was eventually pulled off retail shelves. The ESRB re-rated the 'Mature' game to ‘Adults Only.'

Created by Cybelore Studios, this is the only “sexy game” that can be played using mainstream consoles, like the Nintendo or SEGA system.

The player takes on the role of Hugh Hefner, and builds the Playboy Empire from scratch, including assigning playmates to covers and centerfolds. In the process, the player experiences the infamous playmate parties.

Second Life, released by Linden Lab in 2003, is a virtual world where all kinds of real life pursuits can play out, including sex.

Red Light Center, released by Utherverse, Inc. in 2006, is also a massive multiplayer game like Second Life, but it is purely erotic.

There are about five Massive Multiplayer Online Erotic Games (or MMOEGs) currently in development. Naughty America: The Game, by Safe Escape Studios, is slated for a fall 2006 release.