IBM announced today something rather interesting: Sword Art Online The Beginning Project, a "virtual MMO project" in collaboration with Kadokawa, Bandai Namco, Apniplex and more, inspired by the popular anime series.

Not much is known at the moment, besides the fact that the IBM's cloud computing tech SoftLayer is involved, and the project aims to explore the idea of using cognitive computing (the simulation of human thought processes in a computerized model) for the future of gaming.

The protagonists of the anime Kirito and Asuna are also involved in some form, retaining their original voice actors.

The project, that has a teaser website and a trailer that you can see below, is recruiting 208 alpha tester in the Tokyo metropolitan area for a test to be held between March 18th and March 20th.

It's worth mentioning that the site explains very little of what this actually is, so we'll have to wait for this "alpha test" to know something more precise.

[Thanks for the tip: Masaru Aoyama]