The BBC has commissioned a new kids' show from Ragdoll, the minds that brought us Teletubbies. It'll be called Tronji, and the BBC has picked development studio Nice Tech to produce and create an MMO for kids based on the series on its AliceServer technology.

Nice Tech says it expects to complete the game by early 2008 on a development schedule of only twelve months -- which pegs the release date at some point in the month of March, since Nice Tech's announcement says that Ragdoll and the BBC have been playing in the Tronji world since March of this year. Seems they release and auto-update new builds weekly, with no one involved more than five working days behind build reviews, for what they call a "near real-time tracking process."

"Working alongside a studio with a global reputation and strong IP has been a positive challenge for us," says Ben Simpson, Nice Tech COO. "We have been keen to learn from their experience and streamline our own working practices. We feel we have really grown through this partnership– and in such a short time!”

Nice Tech says it will begin focus-testing Tronji with kids over the next four months.