Publisher sponsored in-game commerce network PlaySpan has announced the appointment of gaming industry veteran Tony Colafrancesco as its new director of Business Development and Game Integration. PlaySpan will benefit from Colafrancesco’s 14 years of experience integrating gaming and social networks for Electronic Arts, AOL Games, and Wild Tangent.

Based in Silicon Valley and backed by a $6.5 million investment from Easton Capital, Menlo Ventures, STIC, and Novel TMT Ventures, PlaySpan delivers in-game search, commerce, and micropayment technologies to game publishers and developers. Gaming platforms, such as K2 Networks and Gala Net, have selected PlaySpan as their official marketplace for virtual goods commerce.

Said PlaySpan founder and CEO Karl Mehta: "Tony's vast hands-on experience in the game industry working on over dozens of AAA titles at large publishers is highly valuable to our publisher partners and a key asset to us and our online community. His expertise with the integration of third party tools and online games ensures the successful integration of PlaySpan technology with game publishers worldwide."