KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sept. 12,
2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Friendster, the pioneer social networking
site that was just relaunched as a social gaming platform is
gaining momentum with increasing users and premium games.
Friendster has attracted more than
half a million new users and now includes over 40 premium games in
2 months after it was introduced to the public on June 28. The new
site is aimed at bringing social games to young Asians and helping
games publishers and developers tap the robust gaming Asian
markets.
Social gaming is a new genre of easy
to play online game that is played by a wide demographic of users
with their friends on social networks. Some of today's most popular
social games on Friendster includes BoomZ and Dragon's Call.
Friendster's Chief Executive Officer
Ganesh Kumar Bangah, said: "Social gaming is rapidly gaining
momentum in Asia. The early results attest to the fact that social
gaming is proving to be creating deeper engagements and
interactions for these young Asian users."
Some of the results of the
Friendster relaunch:
Bangah further explained that the
service continues to be developed and additional features are
regularly being added in. Friendster has already added in Facebook
Connect which allows users to login to Friendster using their
Facebook account. Just last week, the new site allows users to
choose Simplified Chinese as their main interface. Popular gaming
features such as chat will be introduced in the coming weeks.
Though social games on Friendster
are offered free, exclusive in-game items can to be purchased.
Friendster's virtual currency, Friendster Coins, has seen a healthy
increase since the site was relaunched. Friendster, which was
relaunched with a new brand and logo, has also introduced a free
wireless Internet services at popular outlets such as Starbucks and
Papa Johns across Malaysia.
Friendster was acquired by MOL
Global in late 2009. MOL Global also operates MOL Access Portal, a
leading Internet payment provider for social networking sites,
virtual worlds and social gaming platforms. As part of the
relaunch, Friendster moved its business operations out of the U.S.
to Asia. Friendster is leveraging gaming specialists within the MOL
team and the company now operates mainly from three Asian countries
namely in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore.
"We are on the right track to make
Friendster a sustainable online business," Bangah added. "There are
endless possibilities for us to extend our service offering to our
users. We have major plans to introduce new channels and integrate
more online and social activities."
About
Friendster
Friendster is highly
recognized as one of the world's first social networks. Today
Friendster is a niche social network that is highly engaged and
focused for young Asians across the world. Through its portal, the
social gaming site helps people discover new people and things that
are important to them. Friendster was acquired by MOL Global in
December 2009. The company today also operates Friendster iCafe and
Friendster Wifi in Malaysia.
Media Contact:
Winnie Loo
+65-9125-6189 (Singapore)
[email protected]
Hi-res company's logos and
executive photos can be downloaded at: www.flickr.com/molpr
SOURCE MOL