Games developers are risking huge fines by trying to get around games Aussie censorship rules by claiming their games are "online only".

This is because the games industry believes there is a legal loophole exempting online games that don't have a single player component from classification requirements.

However Australian federal and state attorneys-general deny this is the case and might be getting ready to make World of Warcraft, with its more than 11.5 million subscribers, a test case. WoW is sold as boxed sets in retail stores without classification by the Classification Board or the appropriate labeling, for instance M or MA15+ on the basis that it is an internet game.

However NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos said the NSW Classification Enforcement Act prohibited publishers and retailers from selling unclassified computer games.