CS-Nation: In-game ads in CS 1.6 would be the largest change to the game in years. Is it fair for Valve to stream revenue from a practically unsupported title?

Doug Lombardi: We think that gamers would for the most part agree that Valve has supported Counter-Strike very well over the past number of years. Compared to any similar game, it has received an enormous amount of attention and ongoing development. Advertising is something we're trying in order to learn whether or not it makes sense for us and for the community.

CS-Nation: How do you address advertisements that don't fit into the atmosphere or environment of the game? For example, it probably wouldn't make much sense to see an ad for Listerine in the middle of Dust2.

Doug Lombardi: Counter-Strike levels aren't going to turn into Times Square or a Nextel Cup racecar. We have control over what ads show up in Counter-Strike and how they are presented. So, we'll work with advertisers to figure out what kinds of things the Counter-Strike audience will be interested in and present them in a way that blends well with the game experience.

Any player who has spent a lot of time on Dust2 will already be familiar with what advertising will look like in the game world. Take a look at the Gamehelper.com logos on the walls that have been there since the map was first shipped.