Microsoft's Zone gaming site appeared to be recovering Wednesday, a day after numerous consumers were shut out by glitches related to the site's switchover to the software giant's Passport identity-authentication service.

In a notice posted on the Zone home page, Microsoft had informed people that they must sign up for the Passport online identification service, a controversial element of the company's .Net online services push. "The Zone is now a Microsoft .Net Passport site!" the notice read. "Your existing Zone account still works, but you must first sign in to .Net Passport or register for a new .Net Passport account." The Zone is a part of Microsoft's MSN online empire. It includes hundreds of games, ranging from role-playing fantasies to card games, where people compete with one other online. Some games, such as the popular role-playing game "Asheron's Call," require monthly subscription fees. Under the Passport switch, all Zone users have to link their Zone accounts to an existing or newly created Passport account. Darren Gasser, a Ventura, Calif., software developer and regular "Asheron's Call" player, said he had no problem creating a Passport account Tuesday. But he couldn't complete the process on the Web site that was supposed to link the new Passport account to his existing Zone account, an experience echoed by numerous Zone users reporting their experiences in online forums.