Habbo Hotel wins the Prix Möbius Nordica Competition

[superkat]

Habbo Hotel wins the Prix Möbius Nordica competition

- Habbo Hotel awarded main prize, the "Grand Prix" and also claims the "Prix Innovation" award


HELSINKI, Finland, May 2, 2006 - HABBO HOTEL, one of the world's most popular online destinations for teenagers, won the main prize "the Grand Prix" in Prix Möbius Nordica, a competition for interactive media and culture. Habbo Hotel was also nominated as a winner in the "Prix Innovation" category.

In its sixth year, Prix Möbius Nordica aims to promote creativity and innovation especially in the field of interactivity. The competition closely considers each submissions' potential for international distribution. The final with six finalists was held in Helsinki last Friday.

As a winner of the Nordic competition, Sulake Corporation, the company behind Habbo Hotel will participate to the Prix Möbius International Competition in Montreal, Canada, in October 2006. Prix Möbius International is a competition focused on cultural productions and products. It is supported by e.g. UNESCO, CNRS and the European Union.

"We are very glad and honored to accept these awards and we're very proud to represent the Nordics at the international competition," comments Sampo Karjalainen, co-founder of Sulake Corporation. "The key to Habbo Hotel is interactivity and self-expression which we believe were the most important criteria for the judges."

In selecting the Prix Möbius Nordica winners the judges focused on creativity and innovation especially in relation to interactivity. Other criteria included high-class aesthetic and technical production, chosen expressions in relation to content and target audience, market perception, and international potential.

Habbo Hotel is a virtual meeting place and a game environment aimed at teens aged 13 to 18. The attraction of Habbo Hotel is based on the camaraderie of a community and the opportunity for self-expression and creativity. Users join Habbo Hotel by creating a fully-customized online character called a Habbo. From there, users explore the many public areas, play a wide range of games, connect with their friends, decorate their own rooms, dance by the pool, and most of all: have fun by being creative.

Globally the Habbo Hotel concept has now been introduced in 18 countries on 5 continents. Currently Habbo Hotels attract over 7 million unique visitors per month and there are over 50 million Habbo characters created worldwide.

For more information, please contact: Juhani Lassila, Communications Manager, Sulake Corporation Oy, tel. +358 40 541 2365, [email protected]

Press images: www.sulake.com/pressroom_material.html

[Colourful™]

WOW! +Rep.

[Wayne]

Woo, great news.

(Thanks for the news.)