Developer Funcom, best known as the developer of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures MMO, has received a grant from the Norway’s Ministry of Cultural Affairs to develop the new online, free-to-play title called On The Edge of the World. The majority of the focus of this free-to-play sports game will be used to promote Norwegian winter sports.

The game is slated for a prototype release in December of 2010 and will first be offered for the PC and Mac platforms with the possibility of additional platforms to be added in the future. The game will start with a focus on snowboarding at launch, with additional winter sports expected to be added to the game over time.

The engine for On The Edge of the World is said to be quite modular in design and will allow for easy expansion for additional winter sports games. The grant that was given to Funcom by Norway’s Ministry of Cultural Affairs is said to be valued at about $260,000; which is a quarter of the planned initial budget for the title.

While the idea of Norway’s Ministry of Cultural Affairs getting involved with the funding of a video game might seem a bit strange, they normally work with filmmakers on Norwegian developed film titles. It is likely that On The Edge of the World will have a significant cross-media element with television, film and the winter sports that they are promoting.

The project will be headed by Jorgen Thaealdsen, who will serve as the director and producer of the title. Recently, the long-time Funcom team member was the product director on the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures MMO. The title marks an interesting direction in the development of gaming software, and if successful it could start a trend that will see more governments getting involved in the gaming software business to promote and get their messages out.