Hello Kitty Online
Beta preview extended till February 22nd; real-world orphanage to benefit from charity event.
Hong Kong – February 19, 2009: Sanrio Digital ( www.sanriodigital.com) today announced an extension of the current beta preview of Hello Kitty Online ( www.hellokittyonline.com), the official massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) of the Hello Kitty universe. Hello Kitty Online will remain open to the public until 23:00 (11 PM) EST on Sunday, February 22, 2009. The current Valentine Day-themed event has been phased into a charity event named “Helping Hearts”, in which players will craft virtual items that Sanrio Digital will convert to real world clothing donations to an orphanage.
“Helping Hearts” starts at 21:00 (9 PM) EST on February 19, 2009. Hello Kitty Online players will have to use teamwork and organizational skills to collect resources and craft specific virtual shirts and bags. At the end of the event, items crafted and submitted by players will be counted and Sanrio Digital will donate a corresponding number of real, limited edition Hello Kitty shirts and bags to an orphanage. The three guilds with the highest donation values will be declared winners and will be featured on the Hello Kitty Online game site. To join this event or play the Hello Kitty Online beta preview, simply sign up to SanrioTown ( www.sanriotown.com) and download and install the game client from www.hellokittyonline.com. Log in to the game using your SanrioTown username and password.
“Helping Hearts” continues Hello Kitty Online’s efforts to recruit players for socially responsible causes. In the previous charity event, called “Food For Friends”, beta players were asked to craft virtual food items that Sanrio Digital then tallied and converted into a cash donation to charity. Thus, participants in “Food For Friends” effectively raised about USD 12,000 in charity donations to UNICEF ( www.unicef.org) and the Asian Youth Orchestra ( www.asianyouthorchestra.com).
“Helping Hearts” begins at 21:00 (9 PM) EST on February 19 and ends at 23:00 (11 PM) EST on February 22, 2009. Hello Kitty Online will be closed after that time to continue work on the game. Contest results and further details will be provided on www.hellokittyonline.com.
About Hello Kitty Online
Hello Kitty Online, developed by Sanrio Digital, is the official Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) of Hello Kitty and friends, and the first MMORPG to integrate social networking web services into the game experience. In addition to standard features such as customizable avatars, guilds, skill systems, and player economy, Hello Kitty Online offers a social networking platform including blogs, video sharing, and email services. For more information please visit www.hellokittyonline.com.
About Sanrio Digital
Sanrio Digital is a joint venture between Typhoon Games (HK) Ltd. and Sanrio Co. Ltd. Sanrio Digital is responsible for the expansion of Sanrio intellectual property assets into various digital and online media, leveraging an extensive library of original material that includes world-famous brands such as Hello Kitty, Badtz Maru, My Melody, and others. For more information please visit www.sanriodigital.com.
Contact:
Sanrio Digital (HK) Ltd
Tel: +852 2540-2237
Fax: +852 2803-0211
Email: press@sanriodigital.com