Intrepid gamer sets off to find the end of the Minecraft world - even though it will take him 25 YEARS

Kurt Mac has already travelled 700 virtual km in the game

Estimates it will take him 22 years to complete his journey

Hopes to reach the 'far worlds' - an area where the game begins to break down

Anyone who has ventured into the blocky virtual world of Minecraft quickly realises the size of the massively popular online game.

But for one user, finding out exactly how big it is has become an obsession.

Kurt Mac hopes to reach the edge of the game, a murky area only referred to by the game's creator as 'the Far Lands' - even though he expects it to take 25 years.

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Journey to the end of the world: One of the furthest points in Minecraft reached by Kurt Mac. He hopes to reach the edge of the game, a murky area only referred to by the game's creator as 'the Far Lands' - even though he expects it to take 25 years.

WHAT IS MINECRAFT?

Available on everything from smartphones to games consoles, Minecraft is a virtual world made up of square blocks of various materials. Players can break down and build structures through farming and mining.

Each game generates a brand new world populated with a unique configuration of trees, plains and mountains, making it ideal for exploring.

The world continues to automatically generate as the player moves further away from its centre - although its creators have warned of the Far Lands, where the game's code may begin to break down.

Mac began his quest three years ago, in March 2011.

He loaded up a new game, chose a direction and started walking - and has covered over 700km since.

His aim if to get to and area of the game Minecraft creator Markus Persson has called the 'Far Lands,' so far from the center of the world that the game can no longer support the size of the world



Recently, he turned the quest into a walk-a-thon for Child's Play Charity, and has so far raised over $160,000.

'I began my YouTube series as a standard Minecraft Let's Play, where I built a settlement, searched for resources and explored the area around my spawn point,' he said.

'After a while I grew impatient and in the 11th episode of the series decided to pack some essential supplies and head West with the goal of reaching these mysterious Far Lands.

Another shot of the journey so far, revealing snowy peaks.

A map of the journey so far, showing each rest stop as a block - so far over 700km has been covered

'I vowed to make my attempt for the Far Lands without the aid of any mods or cheats, and I have also decided to utilize the popularity of my expedition and turn it into a fundraiser for the Child's Play charity!'

One of the biggest snags to hit the virtual expedition was when Micrcrafts creators removed the Far Lands



'Unfortunately, the Far Lands were removed from the game when the new terrain generation code was released in an update on September 12th, 2011,' he admitted.

However, he vowed not to upgrade.



'Fear not, fellow Farlanders! I will continue the expedition in Minecraft Beta 1.7.3 for as long as I must!'

So far the Minecraft world has remained stable - but there are fears it could develop bugs as the game's limits approach.

On his journey, Mac is armed with a sword and a pickaxe, and is accompanied by his trusted companion Wolfie, a tamed wolf he found in the game.



He narrates each episode of his series.

The series transformed into a sort of podcast, where the topics I talk about might have little to do with the journey itself,' he told the New Yorker.



'Of course, it is always exciting when Minecraft re-grabs my attention with a perilous cliff, a zombie attack, or a memorable landscape, and I remember the journey I’m on.'