Gaia Online Becomes First Company to Successfully Bridge the Gap Between Virtual Worlds and Social Networks

Leading Online Teen Hangout Creates the First Cross-Platform Virtual World Experience; Gaians Now Able to Directly Interact With Others Through Facebook, Bebo

San Jose, Calif. (PRWEB) January 15, 2008 -- Gaia Online (http://gaiaonline.com/), the leading online hangout for teens, today unveiled a new application that, for the first time, connects multiple social networks in a single virtual space, allowing Gaia members and their friends to connect across social platforms. Gaia Online is a social environment where teens come to hangout, have fun and express their individuality through customizable avatars, homes and cars; casual games; arenas for creative writing and artwork; discussion forums on thousands of topics; and virtual spaces such as movie theaters, drag races and towns.

With the new application unveiled today, Gaia has created a miniature version of its popular virtual world and transported it to the Facebook platform. From there, users can interact with other Gaians or other social network users just as if they were logged in to Gaia Online--meaning they can chat with friends, create a guestbook, and interact with the environment to earn Gaia's virtual currency and other items.

Today's launch of the application on Facebook follows a successful December 2007 launch of the Gaia OMG widget for the Bebo platform--where it has quickly become the top-rated application among Bebo users. Now, Facebook and Bebo users can interact in a virtual space directly from their profile pages, and similar tools to enable connection across other popular social networks are currently in the works.

"We are extending the Gaia experience to other places where teens spend their time online," said Craig Sherman, CEO, Gaia Online. "Gaia and social networks are similar in that they are places that empower users to self express and connect with friends, so bridging the two is a logical next step in the evolution of the Internet. We're not stopping here either, there are several other popular social networks out there and we're building new features that will enable Gaia to be everywhere teens are online."

To learn more about the new application for Facebook, visit: http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=3314845506

To learn more about the Gaia OMG Widget for Bebo, visit: http://bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=5007496056

About Gaia Online
Founded in 2003, Gaia Online is the leading online hangout on the web. The Gaia Online community boasts nearly three million unique users per month, with members spending an average of more than one hour on the site per day. Teens come to Gaia every month to make friends, play games, watch movies in Gaia Cinemas, Gaia's virtual theaters, and participate in the world's most active online community. Gaia provides a fun, social environment that inspires individuality and creativity. With everything from art contests to discussion forums on poetry, politics, celebrities and more, to fully customizable profiles, digital characters and cars, Gaia is a place where teens can create their own space and express their individual style. For more information, visit www.gaiaonline.com.

Gaia Online is a trademark of Gaia Interactive, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

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