Reel FX Entertainment recently announced that its first virtual world – Webosaurs is now officially in Open Beta. Launched in July 2009, the brave new world boasts customizable 3D dinosaur avatars, a game-filled prehistoric environment, and educational “Webosodes” from international wildlife expert Nigel Marven.  Positioned as the only place “where kids rule the earth”, Webosaurs offers safe social networking, action-packed gaming, and edutainment for kids ages 5-10.

The Webosaurs story centers on a group of dinosaur characters--the lone survivors of the mass extinction everyone believed ended dinosaur life on earth.  The Webosaurs legend reveals at one far corner of the earth, the furthest point from the meteor impact, a small piece of land and its inhabitants managed to survive. For millions of years, this world and its dino residents remained undiscovered. This spring, kids everywhere will have the power to unlock the secrets and begin their adventures on this amazing island.

Webosaurs is the creation of Reel FX Entertainment and Jacques Panis, who saw an opportunity in the virtual world market for a boy-targeted brand after noticing the lack of options that existed for his twin eight-year-old boys. Dinosaurs provided the perfect subject matter for a virtual world where kids could play safely, have tons of fun, and learn about the environment.

Webosaurs will be a free-to-play site with access to premium content available through subscriptions and a micro-transaction system. The site will be 100% COPPA compliant. Parents may choose a one, six, or twelve-month subscription level. These are priced at $5.94, $29.94, and $49.94 respectively.  Membership will entitle the child to access the premium content for the duration of the subscription.  In addition, Reel FX plans to launch a line of collectible toys in Fall 2009 that will work in conjunction with the virtual world.

This unique prehistoric world is hand drawn by a team of Reel FX artists led by Panis and Creative Director, Justin Harder. With resources dedicated solely to content creation, Webosaurs.com will evolve with frequent updates, keeping the world, games and adventures fresh. The site will include more than 20 single and multi-player casual games at launch. These activities will give the opportunity to earn “coins” that can be used to customize their avatars and home “cave”.

Webosaurs.com also seeks to promote environmental awareness and education by implementing various in-world campaigns which encourage children to support eco-friendly causes.  Children will be able to choose from a list of various pre-selected organizations and donate their “coins” which will ultimately result in real world contributions to environmental causes.

In keeping with its eco-friendly mission, Webosaurs has engaged Nigel Marven, international wildlife expert and star of BBC’s Prehistoric Park and Walking with Dinosaurs as the brand’s spokesperson. Marven filmed exclusive Webosodes for the site and contributed educational content for the games and quizzes. Nigel will help promote the brand via a national promotional tour of leading zoos, museums and aquariums beginning July 24th with a series of special appearances at the Dallas World Aquarium from July 24-26th.

In the past two years alone, Reel FX has animated some of the world’s most recognizable and beloved characters in films, commercials and special attractions for projects including Sony’s Open Season 2; DreamWorks’ Shrek the Third, Bee Movie, and Kung Fu Panda; and The Simpsons. In addition to their work with other top studios, Reel FX has several internal properties in various stages of development. Now, the same talented artists that have made the entertainment and commercial work so successful will use their skills to take toys from the drawing board to retail shelves.