Habbo is unveiling an in-world World Wrestling Entertainment Royal Rumble event in its virtual worlds, featuring 59 avatars of WWE wrestling pros. The actual WWE Royal Rumble will air live on Pay Per View on January 27th, but the Habbo event is currently occurring, and the entire works is being managed with the help of Millions Of Us.

Sulake says Habbo's 1.6 million online citizens will vote for which of the top 30 WWE Superstars they think will play various roles in the event (e.g., ultimate winner). Users whose predictions are correct are entered into a sweepstakes to win a trip to Florida to see Wrestlemania 24 in March.

The WWE likes the chance to promote their brand in Habbo. We checked out the site, and noticed that users aren't just voting on the avatars -- they're enjoying using them to roleplay their own WWE tournaments and discuss their favorite stars. Marketing EVP Geof Rochester said, “WWE is giving fans access to our brand in new and exciting ways– utilizing virtual worlds, social networking sites, widgets, and much more. This promotion with Habbo’s large, active community is a perfect fit for our expanding digital footprint.”

Millions of Us CEO Reuben Steiger commented, “Habbo pioneered the booming youth virtual world space and is one of the most internationally successful communities of its kind. We're especially pleased to be inaugurating our presence in Habbo with our longstanding client WWE. That aside, the ‘Habbo Royal Rumble’ campaign is jam-packed with fun, innovative programming and the stakes are high - the prize is among the most valuable we've ever offered in a promotion."

This is another example of the growing convergence trend, in which entertainment media properties are finding valuable extensions online, in virtual worlds and with game-like content. Reuben Steiger will be speaking on that very topic at our upcoming Worlds in Motion Summit at GDC (don't forget to register!)