MMORPG and Virtual World Platform Provider MindArk Completes Online Games Study Contract for European Space Agency

GOTEBORG, Sweden, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- MindArk PE AB, developer and publisher of Entropia Universe and Entropia Platform, announced today that a study on the use of online game technology for space-related purposes has been completed. The contract for the study was awarded to MindArk by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2009 and a film presenting the main findings is published on YouTube.

"MMO-based technology has strong ties to acquiring knowledge through discovery, collaborative problem solving and team-based learning. This is supported by the findings of the study and the project with the European Space Agency has been a great push forward for us in this area. MindArk´s interest in implementing educational content inside online games was sparked by our previous discussions with NASA about their online game plans." said Christian Bjorkman, MindArk's Chief Marketing Officer. "The work on the study has helped MindArk in finding new means of mixing educational content with entertainment in Entropia Universe. Working with ESA has made us ready to move on to the next level, ready to work with learning industry partners in building qualitative, engaging and top-class game content for online environments that will be both entertaining and motivating".

The study ("Online Game Technology for Space Education and System Analysis") was performed to assess options for the European Space Agency with regards to using online game technology, specifically in the areas of outreach/promotion, education and collaborative engineering.

To illustrate the feasibility of the study findings MindArk has produced a visual mock-up based on a live game environment in Entropia Universe. This is available as a video on the MindArk channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MindArkPEAB

For a presentation of the study, please contact MindArk. To read more details of the study, please visit the ESA Education website http://www.esa.int/education

About MindArk

Sweden-based company MindArk are the creators of the Entropia Platform and Entropia Universe, a 3D virtual universe for entertainment, social interaction and e-commerce. The platform offers access to one of the most advanced Internet interaction venues available today, giving business partners the opportunity to create entirely new planets in Entropia Universe. Some of the themes in production by partners right now are shopping, games, social interaction, music and art.

Entropia Universe is a free download available at the game's official website, http://www.entropiauniverse.com/

For more information on MindArk and the Entropia Platform, please contact us at the numbers below or go to our website at http://www.entropiaplatform.com.

www.mindark.com

www.entropiauniverse.com

www.entropiaplatform.com

SOURCE MindArk