Disney in digital push

Disney is revamping its digital strategy in Europe with the roll out of a range of virtual worlds, starting with the launch of a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' online game in the UK. A number of other virtual games, based around popular Disney franchises, will follow. These are likely to be linked with Club Penguin, the kid's social network and virtual world that Disney bought in Aug for an initial cash offering of USD350m. The roll out is part of a wider initiative by Disney to enhance its online content. The sites will rely on Disney Xtreme Digital, a widget based platform already available in the US that allows users to log in, personalise Disney content and share it with friends.

More than USD1bn was invested in 35 companies related to virtual worlds over the last year, according to Virtual Worlds Management. However this figure includes the USD700m for Disney's acquisition of Club Penguin, of which half has yet to be paid, dependent on earnings in 2008 and 2009. Intel provided the next most significant individual virtual world investment this year, when it acquired Havok, a tech firm that makes graphics technology for virtual worlds like Second Life for USD110m. In Apr, Gartner predicted that by the end of 2011, 80% of active internet users and Fortune 500 companies would have a presence in a virtual world.