Online games

Zong, a payment service for publishers of online games and other digital content, announced this week that its mobile transaction platform has processed mobile payments for 10 million unique users to date in 2009. Besides, Zong also announced the addition of new carrier partners in Eastern Europe, Russia, Southeast Asia and South America. At the moment Zong covers 30 countries.

According to the official Xinhua news agency, China has enjoined websites featuring or publicizing online games which glamorize mafia gangs, saying violators will be "severely punished." The Culture Ministry said such games "advocate obscenity, gambling, or violence," and "undermine morality and Chinese traditional culture."

Gamblingplanet.org announced the addition of two long waited Web 2.0 tools to the site’s social media features, a free user poll and a Twitter news feed. 

The new poll is aimed at collecting players’ preferences of online casino games. The poll is created by Gambling Planet’s own developers and is offered for free at widgetbox.com. Moreover, there are such incentives, offered to Webmasters for employing the tool on their sites, as a link to Gambling Planet and insight to players’ preferences. 

CryptoLogic has entered into a deal with Paramount Digital Entertainment, stated SlotsGeek.com. The partnership will result in further development of online casino games, and the participation of CryptoLogic in the process. 

It should be reminded that due to a Playtech deal with Marvel, CryptoLogic now has to share its no-longer-exclusive rights with Marvel comic slot machines. However, the broader scope of the movie market represents a better marketing device for the company. 

A criminal investigation was launched by the U.S. authorities after a child was advertised for sale on Xbox Live, reports the Register. According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, based in Florida, recently an Xbox Live gamer posted the message “selling a child, will pay for shipping”.

GamesCampus.com announced its partnership with Ukash, aimed at providing European players with a safe, alternative way of making online purchases. With Ukash, players can make micro-transactions within the company's lineup of popular free-to-play MMO's including Asda Story, Manga Fighter, Shot Online and Xiah Rebirth without having to share any personal financial information online.