http://www.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/....ap/index.html


SINGAPORE (AP) -- Bored on a long-haul flight? Singapore Airlines passengers can challenge each other to digital chess or mahjong and the whole plane can compete in a digital quiz show.

The airline has been testing the games on select flights since April and plans to launch an "In-flight Challenge" trivia game on Wednesday during the airline's inaugural flight to Chicago, Derrick Chiang, a spokesman for the national carrier said Wednesday.

It doesn't matter who you sit next to. You can play chess or mahjong, a Chinese board game, with anyone on the flight even if they're in a different class.

The whole plane can compete in the trivia challenge. If the passenger in 32B is brilliant, everyone will know because the score is flashed on the screen on the back of the seat in front of you.

Flight attendants will announce when a new game is about to begin, but people can join in at their leisure, Chiang said. Winners will get a small prize, like a flash light, he said.

Singapore Airlines is known for its innovative in-flight entertainment. The airline was the first in the world to make personal entertainment systems standard on long-haul flights.