Electronic Arts Inc. and Hasbro today announced that the two companies will launch an online entertainment and community destination for girls based on the globally popular Littlest Pet Shop brand in 2009. The Web-based Littlest Pet Shop Online experience will allow girls to play and customise their favourite pets, connect with lots of friends, and participate in online games, activities and events.

“The creation of a Littlest Pet Shop virtual world marks the first major online collaboration designed for girls between EA and Hasbro that masterfully blends the leadership in imagination and innovation that each company brings from their respective industry,” said Chip Lange, General Manager and Vice President of EA Hasbro. “Pre-teen girls spend an enormous amount of time online and are actively seeking something that they can connect and have fun with in a meaningful way. Littlest Pet Shop Online will become the safe destination where girls go to explore and interact with their virtual Littlest Pet Shop collections and friends.”

EA released five Littlest Pet Shop videogames in 2008 on the Wii, PC and NintendoDS platforms and sold 2.8 million copies worldwide. In the holiday quarter, Littlest Pet Shop was a top-five title on the NintendoDS in Europe and North America, based on NPD data. A sixth game, Littlest Pet Shop Spring for the NintendoDS, is due to hit retail shelves in March 2009.

“Littlest Pet Shop is the ‘must have’ property among teen girls worldwide,” said Mark Blecher, General Manager of Digital Gaming and Media at Hasbro. “Building on its success of creating Littlest Pet Shop digital experiences that were embraced by legions of fans, EA is once again set to re-invent the Littlest Pet Shop play experience, but on a much larger scale – the Internet. Millions of girls globally will now have a place where they can come together to connect, collect and share in Littlest Pet Shop fun.”

Please visit www.lpso.com for more details and to sign up for the Littlest Pet Shop Online newsletter.

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