Nickelodeon Launches Virtual Community

NEW YORK, January 29: Nickelodeon will launch Nicktropolis
tomorrow, a new kid-targeted multimedia website that offers gaming, video and
social interaction.

Nicktropolis, which will be available at www.nicktropolis.com or through www.nick.com, offers kids their own virtual
community playground. Kids can design their own “avatar,” watch videos of Nick
programs, interact with other kids or Nickelodeon characters in real-time, and
create their own personalized 3D rooms at Nicktoon Boulevard, which features property branded rooms such as SpongeBob’s
Bikini Bottom and Jimmy Neutron’s
Retroville. They can also play games in the
Pier section and collect
Nickpoints, which can be used to purchase items for personalizing their rooms.
The site will also feature parent-controlled safety features which allow
parents to limit their child’s chat settings and set their security levels of
where and with whom they can visit on Nicktropolis. Nicktropolis is monitored,
and features a "report button" should any concerns arise.

Nicktropolis is the newest addition to the community of
sites within the Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group, joining Nick.com,
Nickjr.com, Nick Arcade, Nick-at-nite.com, Quizilla, The-N.com, Noggin.com,
Neopets, Parentsconnect, GoCityKids, Addicting Games, and Shockwave.com. Those
sites generated almost 25.7 million unique users in December according to
ComScore Media Metrix. Nickelodeon's latest research study, Living in a
Digital World, found that 86 percent of
kids 8-14 are gaming online; 51 percent are watching TV shows and videos
online; 37 percent are instant messaging and 12 percent are participating in
chat rooms.

"Virtual worlds like Nicktropolis are part of our
strategy to bring immersive, relevant entertainment experiences to our
audiences wherever they are, and to build communities around our content across
every kind of platform," said Judy McGrath, the chairman and CEO of MTV
Networks. "The virtual worlds we've been building across our networks give
the fans of our brands the high level of interaction they want with one
another, and with the content itself."