A first-person online shooting game co-developed by the People's Liberation Army, which allows players to virtually defend China's Diaoyu Islands, became available as a beta test download on Thursday.

Glorious Mission Online, a game jointly developed by the Nanjing Military Area Command of the PLA and the Giant Interactive Group Inc, also features the Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier.

The game is actually an update of Glorious Mission, which was developed and distributed among PLA troops in 2011.

Players can choose from different missions including fighting in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45), rescuing people in regions ravaged by earthquakes, and defending the Diaoyu Islands.

Players can also deploy China's most advanced attack helicopters, choose from 30 guns or design their gun from hundreds of components, according to the website of the developer.

The role of the enemy can be played by either the computer or by other players.

Developers said they wanted to make the game more vivid by using audio samples collected from the firing of real weapons. Military personnel were brought into the developer's studio to simulate the appropriate movements and gestures used in combat, according to a report in PLA Daily.

The developers said player information would not be deleted after the beta testing.

The 2011 version of the game is used to train combat units of the PLA and is very popular among soldiers, according to a statement released on Tuesday by the Nanjing Military Area Command and Giant Interactive Group Inc.

The game is expected to raise the public's awareness of national defense, said the statement.

Fei Yongjun, president of a Giant Interactive subsidiary in charge of the game's operations, said the online version will target teenage gamers and military buffs and help bolster national defense education among teenagers.

It remains unclear what role the Nanjing Military Area Command played in developing the game. Both the military and the company refused to comment when contacted by China Daily on Thursday.

A captain surnamed Hu from the Jinan Military Area Command said that many military commanders are fond of computer games and believe the game could help players develop a stronger sense of military tactics.

"I would like to play Counter-Strike (a first-person shooting game developed by the US-based Valve Corp) and Command and Conquer: Red Alert (a real-time strategy game developed by US-based Westwood Studios), but both of them were developed by US companies," he said.

"I expect to play computer games produced by Chinese companies since the weapons we used during real training could be found in domestic games."

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