[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

Today we start with an overview of Club Penguin, the kid-friendly sensation from New Horizon Interactive.

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

Today we explore a little further into the world of Club Penguin, the kid-friendly sensation from New Horizon Interactive.

[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]

Over the past couple of days, we spent plenty of time in the snowy playground of New Horizon Interactive's Club Penguin, playing minigames, saving up to buy Puffles, and being handily trounced at multiplayer sledding. So what's the big picture here?

Club Penguin is now Disney's Club Penguin. The Walt Disney Company has announced its acquisition of the successful, snow-laden virtual world for kids, as part of its stated objective of "establishing clear leadership in the kids and families online virtual worlds space around the globe.”

PaidContent.org is reporting the acquisition to the tune of $350 million up-front, with the opportunity to earn out an additional $350 million by 2009.

“This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of leveraging technology to create and deliver high-quality entertainment around the world and our commitment to investing our capital to generate growth and value for our shareholders,” said Bob Iger, Disney president and CEO.

“We have been actively searching for an organization that not only shares our values and concerns for children, but also has the ability and desire to help us bring Club Penguin to more children throughout the world. We’ve found that partner in Disney,” said Lane Merrifield, one of Club Penguin’s three founders. “As a former employee of Disneyland, I’ve always had a great respect for what Walt created. When he first envisioned Disneyland, he wanted to create a safe place that he and his daughters could enjoy. In the process of creating Club Penguin, we shared that passion and often pulled from Walt’s vision in the hope of creating a unique place online that we would be comfortable letting our own children visit.”

Disney’s Club Penguin will retain the original URL (www.clubpenguin.com) and its home base in Kelowna, British Columbia. The company’s three founders, Lane Merrifield, Dave Krysko and Lance Priebe, will join Disney and continue as Club Penguin senior management; Merrifield will also become an EVP ofThe Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG), reporting to WDIG President Steve Wadsworth.

“Club Penguin is going to continue to exist as is. ... The experience will not change at all. It will continue to evolve.” Iger said. “We really don’t intend to get in the way of that or do anything by virtue of the way we own it.”

With the help of WDIG resources, though, Club Penguin's poised to go international, with plans to create versions in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, as WDIG and Club Penguin management aim to integrate Club Penguin into the Disney-connected entertainment network over time.

Worlds in Motion toured Club Penguin as part of our ongoing Online World Atlas -- you can see our comprehensive tour here.

C21 Media is reporting that Disney's getting set for a British version of Club Penguin to roll out by the middle of next year. Right now, the company is focusing its recruitment efforts on Brighton, England, the seat of its first localized version of the Club Penguin service.

Apparently, new hires will take a trip to Kelowna, British Columbia, the original Club Penguin HQ, for hands-on training prior to the UK launch. Disney famously picked up the successful kids' world earlier this year in a deal that may turn out to be worth up to $700 million.

Said senior VP of Disney's Internet Group Cindy Rose, "Club Penguin has already attracted a significant audience in the UK with its North American service, but we believe there is a real demand in this market for a safe online community destination for children that has local relevance," said Walt Disney Internet Group."

Multiplayer Online Games Directory has coverage of the Consumer Technology Innovations event, which zeroed in on the issues that developers face in meeting the needs of today's consumer, and Yahoo!'s Vince Broady, Atom Films' Scott Roesch, and Disney Online executive vice president and managing director Paul Yanover. They discussed content integration within advertising and Web 2.0 concepts, both of which look like they're here to stay, and Roesch wondered how everyone can keep up and stay relevant against a brand like Club Penguin. Said Disney's Yanover:

As tumultuous as sorting through the business of online entertainment can be right now, what might the future hold? Yanover foresees an explosion of virtual worlds and massively multiplayer online games, while developers and investors will try to "crack the code" for paid content. Roesch agreed, adding that the on-demand experience for premium information is also a part of the future. Broady stated he's watchful for the company that can merge advertising with content seamlessly.

Based on the sum of the panelists' conjecture, the future of Web 2.0 will belong to those companies that can innovate quickly. Producing interactive and social networking-friendly content that's tailored to their individual customers' unique needs will also be key. The content will also have to be supported by non-intrusive and perfectly adapted advertising. To say the least, that is an enormous challenge worthy of any company.

[MPOGD.com - Decoding the Connected Consumer]

In a piece following Club Penguin’s road to success, The Times Online has provided some insight on how the Disney-owned community managed to capture Britain’s ‘tween audience, attracting up to 750,000 kids into its arctic online world.

While being one of the first virtual worlds to provide a social community experience to children aged under 15 years has helped, as has localized content and features, The Times takes care to note Club Penguin’s “innovative” subscription-based business model which has enabled the service to continue without bombarding users with advertisements.

Users can elect to play the game for free, but with a £3.95 monthly subscription ($5.95 in the US), users have access to subscription-only benefits, including outfits and igloo furniture. Subscribers still have to complete tasks and earn in-game coins to purchase these items.

“This distinguishes the site from other virtual worlds aimed at kids which operate on the so-called 'micro-payment model', where all manner of virtual goods such as clothing can be bought for [a] small fee each, usually less than $1,” says Club Penguin co-founder Lane Merrifield. “We didn't want to create a system where the rich kids get the cool things and the poor kids don't.”

Disney MMO Club Penguin has announced a new set of tools that will allow parents to provide greater control of, and involve themselves in, their child’s online entertainment experience. The virtual world, which invites its users to create penguin avatars and interact with friends, is designed for kids aged 6 to 14.

One of the new features allows parents to logon and view their child's account history (e.g. bans, account payments), change passwords, and choose whether they want their child to chat with others using pre-approved phrases or by typing in their own messages. Later this month, parents will also have access to an integrated timer which can set the time of day and duration of their child's visit to Club Penguin.

Said Club Penguin general manager and co-founder Lane Merrifield: “While Club Penguin offers children a world of opportunity to play and use their imaginations online, as parents ourselves we understand the value of making sure kids also spend time away from the computer playing sports and being with their friends. We hope the timer and other new parent features are useful tools for parents who are looking for new ways to manage the time their children spend online.”

The Walt Disney Internet Group has revealed that it intends to hire a team by August to manage its Club Penguin operations in Sydney in response to the kid-targeted virtual world's popularity in Australia, according to a report from Australian news site News.com.au.

Though Club Penguin hasn't yet been incorporated to Disney's gaming site for Australia, user numbers on Disney.com.au have doubled to 800,000 since traditional online games based on Disney animated movies and characters were added last year. The company expects that Club Penguin's popularity in Australia, even without Disney.com.au's backing, will continue to surge.

Said Duncan Orrell-Jones, head of the Walt Disney Internet Group for Asia Pacific: "Gaming is a very important aspect of our audience's experience online and in Australia the game activity online is quite strong. In short, what we have is an entertainment destination... and within that we'll be distributing the sort of deeper, richer experiences of virtual worlds."

Disney Interactive Studios has announced that it is developing Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force, a Nintendo DS spin-off of Disney's popular kid-targeted Club Penguin virtual world.

Developed by 1st Playable Productions (GoPets: Vacation Island, Disney Princess: Magical Jewels), the handheld game will introduce kids to new adventures in the Club Penguin world, enabling them to complete secret agent missions and solve mysteries as a covert agent in the Elite Penguin Force. Players will have access to gadgets, accessories, and vehicles while investigating strange events.

As with The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, also a Nintendo DS release, Elite Penguin Force will include Disney’s DGamer service, which kids can use to jump into a secure online community, dressing up their avatars and chatting with friends.

In addition, players can connect the Nintendo DS game to the virtual Club Penguin world to unlock special features and upload coins to their online penguin account.

Said Disney Interactive Studios SVP of global marketing Craig Relyea: “Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force on Nintendo DS will perfectly complement the truly dynamic and robust online environment, making it more accessible for kids who love the game and want to constantly stay in contact with aspects of the Club Penguin world. We strive to bring innovative and compelling gameplay experiences for our entertainment franchises to kids on the platforms they play.

Customer service, above all, will drive all online game creators to create better games and businesses, said Club Penguin co-creator Lane Merrifield in a densely-attended Austin GDC keynote. Merrifield looked to his Disneyland origins -- and now, Disney-owned online game smash -- to explain why genuine respect and caring make a massive difference.

"If we can truly learn how to put the player first... we will build better games, stronger teams, and thus better businesses," said Merrifield of his essential ethos.

Merrifield was one of the two original developers of the subscription-based kids' Flash PC game, and subsequently presided over its acquisition by Disney in August 2007 for $700 million.

He worked at Disneyland long before Disney acquired his company, controlling a remote controlled crocodile on the Lion King parade. Merrifield recalled that he "...got to see first hand what it was like to be an environment about... serving each other."

It's been a little while since we've reported any news from Club Penguin -- though we did cover co-creator Lane Merrifield's keynote at Austin GDC -- and something worth mentioning is their upcoming toy collection.

An expansion of the virtual into the real world, the toys have suddenly become a bit more interesting, as a post on the community blog has revealed that each Penguin is to come with a "coin" that includes a code which will unlock special items on the users' Club Penguin account.

The unlockables are to include "access to a lot of all-time favorite items from Club Penguin that haven't been around for a long time AND even some new, never before seen exclusive items," according to the post.

The toys are to be available from October 24th in North American Toys R Us stores, Disney stores and theme parks, and the Club Penguin Shop online.