flash and php or something

Hi all,
I have a complex project I want to do and I am wondering if flash is capable of doing it. I want to create an interactive environment between 1 character and a room full of other characters. I want people to be able to choose what characteristics of their character so I assume I'm going to need some sort of back-end db to store this info. I am conversant with php and mysql so I'd like to use that. Also, I'd like to be able to detect other players so that people don't "walk over" each other in the game (I've seen that done in flash before). I'd also like to solicit, give and store responses. Is all of this possible with flash, php and mysql or do I need other tools (and if so, which ones)? If possible, I'd like to attach soiund files (possibly .ai, maybe mp3) to written responses. I'm not asking someone to tell me how to do it, just if it's possible, which parts and perhaps some good resources for learning how to do that sort of scripting. Thanks for the input.

Yes, Flash based chat rooms are possible. You'll need an XMLsocket server to do it though (search google for it). Once you have an XMLsocket server you'll be able to send data back and forth from user to user. You could include all the sound files in the client-side .swf file and then parse the XML info from the server to decide which sounds to play. Flash does support collision detection on both the pixel level (to a limited degree) and object bounding box level.

well, i dont what this guys r talkin about, however if u want to see some flash PHP mysql chat stuff? go here http://chat.loltamil.com/

this chat is simple using php mysql and flash for interface no XMLsocket servers r needed.

Thanks. I actually wasn't thinking of a chat room, but that brings a really interesting potential aspect to this project. What I really want to do is allow the user to choose from a list of stimuli which then solicits a likely response (of which there may be more than one possible option, in which case 1 is picked at random) from the other character in that microworld. For reality's sake, I want to attach that written response to its spoken counterpart. Your response does give me some hope, though, so now my question is this: what resources (books, etc.) are good for learning about collision detection, db interaction (with php and mysql) and sound issues? Thanks for any insight.