Virtual worlds and MMO games production company Virtual Fairground (www.virtualfairground.com) and French animation house Alphanim, a Gaumont company (www.alphanim.com, www.gaumont.com), today announced that they will bring Alphanims animation hit series Galactik Football to the web in the form of a cutting-edge, Flash based virtual world and MMO game for kids and tweens.

The two companies signed a worldwide licensing agreement that will see a phased international roll-out of the game and service starting spring 2009 up until a full launch in 2010, the year of the FIFA World Cup. Virtual Fairground assumes full development and publishing duties.

Devised and produced by French animation studio Alphanim, Galactik Football is a vibrant mix of 2D and toon-shaded 3D and follows the progress of the Snow Kids, a futuristic football team from the planet Akillian as they try to win the prestigious Galactik Football Cup. The show blends drama, action sports and magic in the form of the mysterious Flux force and is currently on air in over 100 countries.

"We’re looking forward to opening up the Galactik Football galaxy to kids”, says Maarten Brands of Virtual Fairground. “In a safe and extensive online world, kids will soon be able to create their own players and teams and compete for the Galactik Cup. Besides the overall quest, we’re creating numerous mini-games, fun distractions and socialization features for a kid and tween audience.”

The entire Flash-based world will run directly from the browser, without the need for a client or other plug-in. Ilja Goossens of Virtual Fairground: “We’re creating a high-end entertainment experience for the web but accessibility is a key feature for us and our audience. That is why we’ve set this challenging development goal for ourselves: making everything run from the browser. We’re extremely proud of the cutting-edge 2D and 3D graphical elements our team is producing at the moment. This game will be an eye-brow raiser when we launch its first phase in April.”

Cedric Petitpas, VP Marketing & Licensing for Alphanim: “We are extremely pleased with this new online project which is going to bring a new and exciting dimension to Galactik Football. It will give kids the possibility to interact and finally take part in many fun ways in the ultimate competition.”