Commonwealth Bank today announced a new online game that will help gamers invest money without risking real life money to do so.

Investorville is a unique property investment tool that provides people with real-time exposure to the property market. The simulation tool is designed to help online users to participate in real estate property investment that uses gameplay to simulate scenarios that include the highs and lows of the property market.

"Making the leap from owning your own property to buying an investment property can seem quite daunting to a lot of people," said Mark Murray, General Manager of Commonwealth Bank Consumer Marketing. "Investorville helps to break down common misconceptions and show the practicalities of property investment.

"The really beneficial part of Investorville is that users can, in the true sense of the term, try before they buy. The properties and data are reflective of the Australian property market and the types of properties available," he added.

Users can start their investing adventures by making an online profile with personal information on current budgets and existing real estate investments. They can then search for possible investment properties in suburbs across Australia based on their target price. After a property is found, users can decide if they want to rent, repair or renovate the property. During the in-game 15-year period, users will have to deal with interest rates, pay increases and bad tenants. If the users' portfolio is doing well, they have the option to expand their little real-estate empire by acquiring more properties.

"We'd seen property games and property investment planners before, but none seemed to offer an experience that a person could apply to the real-life challenges they were facing. Investorville combines sophisticated economic modelling and real market data with a simple user-friendly gameplay to give people realism and simplicity," explained the creator of Investorville, Aaron Michie, Interactive Concepts Director.

This is the second online innovation launched by Commonwealth Bank. A previously launched iPhone app in 2010, the Commonwealth Bank Property Guide provided property information on any premises the phone pointed at. This time Commbank is targeting social gamers and property owners with Investorville to unlock their potential real-estate investment potential.