Konami have announced a new initiative designed to lure new players into Metal Gear Online. Dubbed the "Rookie Campaign", an incentive of 5,000 Reward points and the MGO Codec Pack will provided to players who register a new Metal Gear Online account between now and the 16th of February.

The announcement "Rookie Campaign" is accompanied with some good news for those who are yet to pick up Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (which includes Metal Gear Online) - with Konami having released a demo for both Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Online on the PlayStation network.

The "Rookie Campaign", as its name implies, will be targerted towards new players, and will only be available to those who have not yet played Metal Gear Online on their PlayStation 3 console. The 5,000 rewards points which will be awarded to new players can be exchanged for wacky character customisations, such as an afro, or items with more utilitarian combat purposes such as camouflage.

With one million registered users, Metal Gear Online offers two downloadable expansion packs, dubbed "Gene" and "Meme". Those who purchase both packs will be able to compete in Metal Gear Online tournaments, attain more in-game goodies, and have access to a larger number of maps and playable characters.

Whether the "Rookie Campaign" will draw and retain a large number of new characters to Metal Gear Online will depend very much on the player's initial experiences with the game (if they've not yet played it, that is) - so if you see any new soldiers running around the battlefield - try to be welcoming before dispatching a welcoming gift of bullets.