At New World Notes, Wagner James Au reports that a new Facebook application, Second Life Link, connects Facebook profiles to the user's Second Life avatar by mapping it using the avatar key, and allows the avatar to be displayed in the Facebook profile. It also lets people see whether their Facebook friends are in Second Life at any given time, and to teleport to favorite locations directly.

It's unsurprising that a popular social networking tool would finally get its own means to connect to Second Life. The app, called Second Life Link and created by Fire Preibisch and Jared Mitchell, is still in beta.

[Via New World Notes]

Chinese MMO company CDC Games has been making news lately because of its legal battles with Mgame over security and tech support for Yulgang, but now the company has some brighter news to report, as it announces its entry into the Japanese online game market with the establishment of CDC Games Japan.

CDC Games Japan will be a subsidiary of CDC Games International, and will kick off with the beginning of closed beta testing for its new action MMO Minna de Battle (known as Gemfighter outside of Japan). The company says the Japanese launch is part of an international expansion strategy, which includes the recent launch of U.S. Operations with CDC Games USA. CDC claims five sub-licensing agreements for the Southeast Asia and Taiwan regions, and has made several large MMOs available in Asia, including Yulgang, EVE Online, Special Force, Shaiya and Mir III, with The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, Dragonsky, Stone Age 2, ChaosGem, Come on Baby, and Red Blood all planned for Chinese launch in the near future.

Additionally, the company also announced the appointment of Jeffrey Longoria as president of CDC International, moving over from CDC Software, a sister company in the CDC family, where he served as senior vice president of strategic alliances, most notably working on the strategic relationship with Microsoft for CDC Software, CDC Games and other companies in the CDC family.

Said Longoria of the Minna de Battle launch, “We are very excited to launch our first online game in Japan. Along with our recent launch of our U.S. operations, our plans to offer five new games for southeast Asia and Taiwan and our strong games pipeline, we are positioning ourselves to become one of the leading global online games companies with a broad and diversified international games portfolio.”

In an official statement on the EVE Online website,CCP chief of operations Jón Hörðdal explained that a database anomoly indicative of a potential exploit recently caused both the EVE Online game servers and its website to be temporarily brought down.

Explained Hörðdal, "What we discovered was an indication that one of our databases was being accessed through a security breach. Our policy in such cases is to mobilize a taskforce of internal and external experts to evaluate the situation."

Hörðdal said that the taskforce concluded that going completely dark so that an exhaustive scan could be performed was the best course of action. "While some may feel that such a drastic reaction was not warranted, it is always our approach to err on the side of caution in order to protect the players," he said.

"Our taskforce quickly found the security breach and prevented that from being used," added Hörðdal. "We can also confirm that no personal details such as users’ credentials or credit card numbers were exposed through this incident."

According to the website, EVE's servers were brought back online at 22:00 GMT, and the EVE team will continue to monitor the situation in the coming week. Said Hörðdal "We of course understand the effect and disruption this has had for our players and apologize for not having been able to explain to the community what was going on. In these cases it can often be counterproductive to containment to give out information while we are in the process of evaluating the scope of the problem."

San Jose-based online game publisher, OnNet USA has announced it will bring Square-Enix's free-to-play MMORPG Concerto Gate to North America through its game portal, GamesCampus. The company says Concerto Gate will enter public beta in 2008.

OnNet USA will act as the North American publisher of Concerto Gate under a sublicensing agreement with Excite Japan, who signed a licensing agreement for the title with Square-Enix last September.

Concerto Gate is the sequel to Cross Gate, which was launched in Japan in July 2001. Though never introduced in the U.S., Cross Gate claims some 23 million registered users in Japan, Taiwan and Korea, and Concerto Gate features an updated game system and improved graphics.

One interesting mechanic of the Concerto Gate world is that the topography of the game world persistently evolves in response to player behavior. For example, players dig in the ground to engage in mining activities, and small mining channels eventually become larger over time. Other gradual, large-scale terrain changes, like the demolition of forests or the formation of new mountains, occur over several weeks at a time depending on the interaction between characters.

Says OnNet USA CEO Kevin Kim, "This endeavor is very meaningful at every level for all parties involved. It is a marriage of OnNet USA’s expertise of publishing micro-transaction based games and Square Enix’s production of groundbreaking titles.” says Kevin Kim, CEO of OnNet USA.

Online game developer Jagex (RuneScape) has announced the appointment of Geoff Iddison, former European CEO of PayPal, has joined the company as CEO, taking the reins from Constant Tedder, who will remain on the Board of Directors.

Iddison held the position of CEO of eBay-owned payments business PayPal Europe since August 2003, having originally led the first expansion of PayPal from its base in California. Prior to joining eBay in 2000, Iddison was COO at auctioneer Christie's. In his new role at Jagex, Iddison will focus on continuing to grow RuneScape, as well as bringing new online games to market.

The browser-based RuneScape is a free-to-play MMORPG with a subscription option, and claims 6 million players worldwide in the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Scandinavia, in addition to a recently-launched German-language version of the game.

Commented Iddison, "The technology used to distribute the game and the incredible depth offered to anyone playing RuneScape makes Jagex a very different gaming company. Jagex's mantra is to offer fun, meticulously written and deep storyline-driven online games, at a price which offers unmatched value for money. This will continue to be the basis of the future strategy for the company.”

Added founder and head of game development Andrew Gower, “I am delighted that Geoff has joined us. His track record in e-commerce will definitely help us achieve our next level of goals. There are many exciting projects in the pipeline and we can't wait to further improve our service and the games we offer.”

When the Multiverse Network first unveiled its platform, a software solution for online worlds developers, it launched an initiative it calls "Worlds in Progress," a collection of early prototype games and worlds built on its platform, with the aim of providing consumer access to the network. Along with the initiative, it launched one flagship world, an MMO called Dark Horizons Universe, a prototype MMO called Forgotten Legends, and two "sample worlds."

At the time, the company said that Retro Labs' Lunar Quest and Wardog Studios' Force of Arms were in the pipeline, and the company's just announced their immediate availability via Multiverse's World Browser, though the company says they're "not production quality yet."

"We're building our world on the Multiverse Platform because their technology delivers the features, functionality and performance our team needs to create a world-class teaching application," said Tim Holt, lead designer, Retro Labs. "Their platform allows us to combine traditional gameplay features and capabilities into an innovative virtual world designed to engage students and make them a part of the teaching process."

Lunar Quest incorporates flash-based mini-games to teach students about physics, science and math, casting student players as lunar colonists, while Force of Arms is a more traditional, futuristic hero MMORPG.

"We continue to be impressed by the early efforts of many of our indie customers," said Corey Bridges, co-founder and executive producer, The Multiverse Network, Inc. "Seeing this range of diverse ideas come to fruition so quickly is exactly what will blow the doors off this industry and pave the way for significant innovation."

Toy company Playhut has thrown its hat into the kids' virtual worlds ring with the launch of GoLive2.com Kraze, which is actually a single brand name for two kids' spaces. One, Zynia, is home to the Mystikats Kutties (though it remains to be seen exactly what sort of Kuttie a Mystikat is), and is targeted at girls, while the other, Onimech, is populated by Wowbots, and is targeted at boys -- though the site stresses that both worlds are open to everyone.

There's not much info available on the site yet, but the About page explains that in Zynia and Onimech, kids can do essentially what you'd expect them to be able to do in a virtual world -- play games, chat with friends, send e-cards, dress up avatars and collect coins to funish a virtual room, spaceship or garden.

The social interaction requires a parental permission slip, and it's unsurprising that the area geared for parental information is the most thoroughly set up on the Playhut site so far, explaining what it is their kids will be doing in the worlds and how it is kept secure. And judging by the picture on the parents' page, Mystikat Kutties seem to be neither kats nor kutties, but girls that look a little bit like Bratz.

"As a parent, I wanted to create an online world where my children could have the freedom to express their personal style, connect with classmates and make new friends in a safe and fun environment," stated Brian Zheng, CEO. "By designing a virtual world that celebrates childhood through events like our Halloween party, yet protects children from online dangers, GoLive2 accomplishes just that."

Virtual worlds agency Millions of Us has announced an artist-in-residence program focused on discovering and promoting emerging artists in the spheres of virtual worlds and social networking. The company will sponsor the artists discovered through the program, offering them the opportunity for informal collaboration with the Millions of Us creative team, and to use the company's technical resources to work independently on their own projects in a "relaxed atmosphere" and "unstructured program."

The first artist-in-residence will be UK-based Rob Wright, known as "Robbie Dingo" in Second Life, whose short film, a 3D interpretation of Van Gogh's famous Starry Night painting, was produced entirely in Second Life. His first commission for Millions of Us will be a film interpretation of the song "Meteors" by Kirsty Hawkshaw, an electronic music performer who works with the band Opus III and who performs in Second Life.

Millions of Us Chief Creative Officer Douglas Gayeton said, "Millions of Us is committed to finding the best talent in virtual worlds and all new media in order to bring them to a larger audience. This is in part because we want to bring the freshest thinking possible to our campaigns, but also because we are inspired by the rapidly evolving work being produced by today's digital artists and want to give back to the community."

At the Virtual Worlds Forum Europe, running October 23rd through the 26th in London, Habbo founder Sampo Karjalainen of Sulake Corp. said that the site has had 80 million avatars created since its 2000 launch in Finland.

Karjalainen, speaking as part of a panel called "Kidalicious: Are Kids and Teenagers the Future for Virtual Worlds?", said that when Habbo first launched, he hadn't necessarily intended for it to become as large as it has -- spreading to 31 countries across five continents. The company says that 75,000 members join daily with 6 million monthly uniques, and that the average Habbo user, who is a teenager between the ages of 11 and 17, spends 32 minutes per visit on the site.

Said Karjalainen, “When we first created the idea behind Habbo, it wasn’t our intention that it should explicitly be an online community for teenagers or that it would run for so long! The first version of Habbo was a hobby project that myself and my partner, Aapo Kyrölä, were working on and one on which we would only focus for a month or two. But as the community grew, based solely on word of mouth, we of course decided not to take the service down."

He continued, "In 2000, when we officially launched Habbo in Finland , we realized that the majority of the community consisted of teenagers. On that basis, we took a decision to continue to develop the site but only for teens. Now seven years on with 80 million characters created, its clear that teenagers get more out of virtual world experiences and that we made the right decision!”

At the Virtual Worlds Forum in London, film producer and politician Lord David Puttnam said that virtual worlds are changing the face of broadcasting, and that the TV industry needs to adapt to meet the growing need virtual worlds have fostered among viewers for ongoing engagement and interaction.

Specifically, as reported by the Guardian's Jemima Kiss, Puttnam said that broadcasters have historically marginalized the MMO industry, but that its impact on the ways in which people relate to their media should not be underestimated. today opened the Virtual Worlds Forum in London by saying that broadcast "is only half an industry", and needs to do more to match viewers' default expectation for interaction.

He spoke highly of the creative potential in online worlds, saying, "People have always tried to create imaginary or visionary worlds to inspire and educate those with less imagination, and now we can build more immersive and compelling worlds than ever before."

He did acknowledge that there will probably be couch potato types who aren't seeking interactivity, and raised some of the issues plaguing virtual worlds -- such as security, privacy, and the "Internet addiction" concept, but said that the perception of such negative issues hasn't been debated constructively, and may be over-hyped.

Puttnam said the biggest priority for the industry now must be children's safety. "Sites like Habbo Hotel and the BBC's Adventure Rock have the highest respect for children's safety and privacy, but is this enough to shelter children from inappropriate speech and to hide email addresses?" He asked, encouraging virtual worlds builders to focus on creating products that encourage real world skills, rather than "a space that encourages children to spend money."

He added, "We have to ensure that virtual worlds are a place that offers people meaning, and greater agency in their education and working lives. At their very best, human being are essentially social beings and it is our job to nurture that."

[Via The Guardian]

The Times Online U.K. is reporting that the British government may soon step in to start regulating virtual worlds more closely, citing "causes for concern" that include identity theft, money laundering, copyright violation and exploitation of children.

At the Virtual Worlds Forum in London, Lord Triesman, a minister at the Department For Innovation, Universities and Skills, said that virtual worlds present "sharp challenges" in terms of moderating and controlling illegal or anti-social activities, though he allowed that they are "one of the most exciting technological developments in recent years."

He encouraged companies that develop and operate virtual worlds to take an active role in regulation, but indicated that government involvement would at some point be inevitable. Lord Triesman did not, however, comment on specific laws that may be in the pipeline, and he sidestepped the controversial taxation issue, calling it a matter for the Treasury.

[Via Times Online UK]

At the 2007 Virtual Worlds Forum Europe, Vodafone's David Erixon unveiled the company's new "Inside Out" technology, a utility that lets users call or text their Second Life friends' real-world mobile phones. Tech Digest says Ericsson's claiming 10,000 have signed on to the tech so far.

But Tech Digest raises another good point -- why would users use Second Life to make phone calls or send text messages when it would be simpler to do that from one's own phone? A commenter points out that the service will let users text Second Life friends without knowing their phone numbers, a way for Second Life friends to keep access to one another on the go while keeping actual phone numbers private -- a sort of "virtual phone number?"

MapleStory's known for its holiday-themed events, which are localized for regional celebrations. Nexon America is apparently continuing this tradition with their latest MMO to reach our shores, KartRider, the free-to-play racing MMO currently in open beta. KartRider is set to offer a variety of Halloween-themed events and content releases.

First, a spooky new area, Creepy Hollow, will feature new tracks, 'Fright Fight' and 'Hidden Monastery', adding eerie forests, precarious cliff roads, long dark corridors and a cemetary. Riders will be able to check out the new area in a Halloween-themed "Pumpkin Racer E2" cart, the first of a new series of racers and the highest-level kart currently available.

KartRider also adds "The Pumpkin Chase," a scavenger hunt event in which users collect Jack o'Lanterns around various race courses. Players that can collect enough pumpkins within the time frame get a special reward.

Offering holiday events in multiplayer worlds is a strong strategy in general; with it being quite clear what social interaction adds to gameplay, letting users share their holiday experience in a game definitely adds value to the experience.

We've been covering the ongoing legal battle between CDC and MGame, in which CDC has filed a lawsuit against Mgame in both Hong Kong and Korea for breach of contract. The conflict revolves around the game Yulgang (Scions of Fate in the U.S.), a Korean MMO the two companies have been cooperating to publish in China, and CDC alleges MGame has failed to meet promised tech support obligations, and that it hasn't supported CDC's anti-piracy efforts adequately.

However, MGame is claiming that CDC was the first one to breach. Though CDC said in its official statement that it has paid $15 million in royalties and license fees since 2005, MGame claims that CDC has not fully paid the license fee to renew Yulgang in China.

"The reason MGame terminated the contract was the nonpayment for the extension contract of Yulgang in China," MGame's Noah Chang told Worlds in Motion. "They were supposed to pay the initial fee for it this June, but they didn't make the full payment. They actually made a partial payment by June or July; since then, they didn't make any further payment."

Says MGame CEO Yi Hyoung Kwon, "A contract is a document that states the rights and obligations of both parties. After breaching the conditions of the contract initially agreed upon, there will only be distrust between both parties. Even though, we requested CDC Games to make payments for the license fee several times, promises weren’t kept and we had to announce the termination of the contract.”

He continued, "We are trying our best to devise a scheme to minimize the damages to Chinese players and we will provide constant and stable services for Yulgang in China with a new partner sometime soon."

Outspark, a new publisher of free, community-based online games, has announced its official corporate launch. It's primarily aimed at supporting independent developers, giving them the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from the company's "virtual playground community," where they can nurture homegrown properties into online game experiences with Outspark's support, as the company says it's pursuing a diverse, accessible lineup of titles.

Outspark is led by founder and CEO Susan Choe, previously COO of NHN USA and international director of Yahoo! Games. Also on the team is Nick Foster, as chief studio officer, former CTO of Starz Media and head of global FX for DreamWorks Animation. Other Outspark team members come from Blizzard, Nexon, Electronic Arts, Webzen and Yahoo!.

We first heard of Outspark when the MMORPG Fiesta entered open beta, and the company says it will offer a variety of genres, including fantasy role-playing, and advanced casual games like sports and racing, where players can meet, socialize, and have fun with friends old and new. The company’s second game, fantasy MMORPG Secret of the Solstice, is currently in closed beta.

Outspark games are free to play, but players can purchase items to customize their characters through an online store. The items, things like clothing and pets, are unique to each game. Outspark adds that its content changes on a daily basis with the aim of driving community engagement.

Said Foster, “The future of online entertainment lies in the type of immersive games and enchanting communities Outspark is building. We believe that our titles will help the online entertainment industry evolve, making it easier for media companies to establish a gaming presence online by offering them a complete platform that’s easy to use and monetize.”

MMO publisher NCsoft and in-game advertising company Double Fusion have announced a partnership which will see two of NCsoft's free-to-play games supported by in-game ads.

Dungeon Runners, a fantasy MMO which is currently live and already free-to-play, will be bolstered by "in- and around-game advertising," as will Exteel, a futuristic mech-based shooter which is currently in beta. Both games were planned to make the bulk of their money through in-game item sales, which will continue.

According to Jonathan Epstein, president and CEO, Double Fusion, "Partnering with a leading MMO publisher like NCsoft, a leader in free-to-play as well as subscription online game models, allows us to set the type of example we hope other publishers will look to and want to join." Gamasutra recently interviewed Epstein about fusion.runtime, the technology which allows the company to serve ads into its clients games.

Dungeon Runners is NCsoft's first free-to-play MMO. It launched earlier this year. The company also continues to publish other subscription-based MMOs, such as City of Heroes and Lineage II. Its biggest title for this year, Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa, is currently in beta.

[The preceding article originally ran on Worlds in Motion sister site Gamasutra.]

Even casual games are taking a page from the book of online worlds. Casual title Diner Dash, which charges players with pleasing restaurant patrons in the food service rush, has incorporated some social networking features, as well as some personalization elements into the game -- and it's also added microtransactions.

PlayFirst chose the latest title in the franchise, Diner Dash: Hometown Hero as the new business model's proving ground, letting players dress up their waiter and customize their restaurant with virtual goods, and new multiplayer modes let them show off the goods they've earned to their friends.

According to a spokesperson from PlayFirst, more than 20 percent of all purchases within the game can be attributed to sales of virtual items and level packs. Diner Dash: Hometown Hero offers a free trial of the first seven levels, but players pay a one-time fee to purchase the game and access the full version.

Other areas of gaming are learning a lot from the success of virtual worlds, and the microtransactions business model is providing a useful alternative to the casual games space, which is still largely in an experimental phase in terms of discovering the most effective ways to monetize its content.

Recently, at the Tokyo Motor Show, attendees were able to take the shiny new cars they ogled for a virtual spin. Some of the new cars, like those unveiled by Nissan and Subaru, had counterparts in a special version of the PlayStation 3 driving simulation title Gran Turismo.

The virtual test drive, as reported by AFP, was made possible through a partnership between car makers and Sony Computer Entertainment, with the aim of giving an impression of how the cars handle, and how they consume fuel. It seems that Japanese automakers face a challenge when it comes to domestic sales, so the partnership, which will feature other cars by Toyota, Mitsubishi and Mazda in the official version of Gran Turismo 5, is an attempt to raise interest among young people in car brands.

Sony's Yoshiaki Oinuma told the AFP, "We hope the real and the virtual worlds will cross over," in regards to the partnership, which is particularly a sensible move on the part of car makers. There is huge interest among young Asians in online worlds and MMOs, and even here in the West, where marketers are realizing that virtual worlds can allow them long-sought access to a young, tech-savvy market. Racing, sporting, and other specific online worlds have begun to crop up a lot recently, and offer natural branding opportunities, the same way these events do in the real world.

Added Oinuma, "We hope by playing the game children will realize how exciting cars are and think 'I will definitely drive this car when I reach 18'."

[Via AFP]

One of the more exciting things about the 2007 Virtual Worlds Forum in Europe is that new entrants to the virtual world space appear so innovative and promising. A new industry with birth plenty of new ideas, but it's encouraging to see solid new additions.

We've been watching Dr. Barbara "Babsi" Lippe's Papermint for some time, and now Avaloop's demoed the Papermint Online Society at the Forum, according to Tech Digest. The company says Papermint is based on social interaction, emphasizing different ways of social relations and incorporating various profile codes to identify and customize different personalities and the ways players interact with others.

"The core gameplay thus represents the translation of the principles of human perception into a ground-breaking electronic medium," explains the company on its official website. Moreover, it's an interesting graphical marriage, featuring cartoonish 2D avatars against the backdrop of a 3D world. It'll allow you to dress and customize your home and avatar, and will feature in-game ads tucked into the Papermint environment so as not to be intrusive.

[Via TechDigest]