Sony Online Entertainment has opened to the public a beta version of EverQuest, the company's wildly popular multiplayer fantasy roleplaying game played online, for Mac OS X. To bring the three year old game to Mac, Sony enlisted Westlake Interactive, which has ported titles such as The Sims and Medal of Honor.

"EverQuest has entered the Public Beta phase and is in final testing before being released," read a notice on Westlake's Web site from Lead Programmer Glenda Adams. "Mac gamers who would like to apply to be part of the public beta can sign up at the URL listed below. Feedback on the Beta so far has been great, and we're really excited about getting this game out the door!"

Although EverQuest has long been released on Windows, Sony will include three expansion packs into the single EverQuest for Mac package. Mac users will have access to the latest characters and graphical updates that appeared in later add-ons to the game.

Mac gamers will play EverQuest on different servers than PC users, a decision Sony made in order to keep the playing field level. "A fresh server set with existing rules provides the most balanced environment we can establish; and we feel the gains in enjoyment of playability outweigh the potential negatives," says Sony.

Users of Mac OS X can sign up for the EverQuest public beta by visiting station.com. A final version of the game is expected to ship later this summer. Sony has not yet announced pricing, but expects EverQuest for Mac subscription rates to be equal to those on Windows.