Oh wow. Back in the 90s, I "played" a game called Progress Quest. Basically you downloaded the game, spun the dice a few times and then your character would go out on quests. Your game was saved in a small file, which you could move about machines, and you could have your stats uploaded to a web-based leader board. Now they have a web-based version, accounts and forums.

Godville seems like a much more advanced concept of this. Whereas PQ has an automatic hero that's supposed to be you, Godville has a character that worships you and may or may not follow your commands, if you choose to send them at all. I like it.

http://progressquest.com