Live Database information diplay.

I may be new to this forum, but am no noob when it comes to forum posting. That being said, I am sure this topic has been covered many times. I must not be asking the right search questions/terms.
Background:

I am running a mysql database. The bulk of my site has been built using primarily php.

The page I want to change:

My who's online page. This page displays who is online, how much money they have (within the game), how long they have been idle, what page they are currently viewing, and their current rank in the game.

My problem:

You must refresh the page to update the information. This is fine, but I want to take it to the next step.

What I want it to do:

I want the page to is provide this information on the fly. Without having to refresh the page at all. I want for my players to keep this page open and be able to look at it any time and the information be up to date to the second.

What I know:

I know that I need to be able to display a variable be it php or javascript and be able to link it to the database where as soon as the database is updated the page information is updated.

What I need to know:

What would this be called? Where can I look and what should I search for to find the proper information about how to do this?

What I think, ajax is probably going to be the best rout for this, but all I can find this far in ajax is to click and update. I need this to do it on it's own.

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.