After years of neglect in favour of more fashionable pastimes, cribbage, backgammon and drafts could soon be as popular as ever in British pubs.

But for pubgoers fed up with the noise and flashing lights of fruit machines and video games, their return may not be a cause of celebration. The latest version of the games is designed to be played on computers connected to the internet.

Rather than being forced to strike up conversation over the dominoes, customers will be encouraged to spend £1 for 10 minutes playing an anonymous opponent on the other side of the country. This new pub entertainment was unveiled yesterday by the internet company MSN. The games are played on internet consoles, installed in pubs as part of the Pubnet scheme.