Stardoll and Random House Launch Interactive Virtual Story for Teens

STOCKHOLM and LONDON, September 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Stardoll, the world's largest virtual entertainment and social gaming site for teenagers interested in fashion, celebrity and entertainment, today announced a partnership with Random House Children's Books to deliver Mortal Kiss, an innovative virtual story aimed at teens. Mortal Kiss is the first interactive story Random House has published on a social networking platform.

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Mortal Kiss is a paranormal mystery created in collaboration between writers and editors at RHCB and artists and programmers at Stardoll, crafting everything from plot and personas to virtual environments, illustrations and wardrobes; building a synergy between the reading experience and the interactive features of the website. Mortal Kiss will be serialized globally via the Stardoll website over an 8-week period from the 6th of September until Hallowe'en. The story will deliver 3-5 minutes of reading material daily, building to a cliffhanger every week. Going beyond an ebook experience, Stardoll members are invited to shape the story as it is told - to have a voice, create images, shop for items from the story and get involved with the story's outcome.

The story will be told through an interactive book and map of Winter Mill, a fictitious town in New England. The four main characters (Liz, Faye, Finn, and Lucas) will have character Stardolls, complete with profiles and outfits to dress up in - all drawn from the events of the story. The main story hub will be the place for Stardoll users to catch up with Mortal Kiss, gathering all the events into one central locale and providing back-story as the mystery unfolds.

The project will also include writing contests with themes from within the book and will ask members to vote on plot points, encouraging teens to read and involving them in the creative writing process at the start of the school year.

"Mortal Kiss is breaking new ground in teen publishing as we explore imaginative ways to interact with this digitally savvy group," said Gail Rebuck, Chairman and Chief Executive of The Random House Group. "Teens will always be engaged with great storytelling and we are delighted to partner Stardoll on this innovative concept to create new ways of reaching young people and encouraging them to read."

"We're excited to be partnering with leading global publisher Random House," says Mattias Miksche, CEO at Stardoll. "This initiative and new relationship combines the engagement of contemporary media with the printed page to the online game - in ways that encourage the development of creativity and individual voice among teens."

More about Stardoll

With over 100 million registered users worldwide, the Stardoll Network is the leading group of websites devoted to young women and teens. Launched in early 2009, the network includes: Stardoll.com - the entertainment destination for young women focused on fame, fashion and friends; Piczo.com - the original platform devoted to social self expression and visual blogging; and PaperDollHeaven.com - a simpler game-play environment for the younger, female demographic. The Stardoll Network now works with the world's biggest brands as they look to engage with an increasingly elusive teen audience. The network is the number one publisher in ComScore's teen category, both in Europe and globally. The business is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden with offices in the US, UK and Germany, and is backed by two of the world's top venture capital firms: Sequoia Capital and Index Ventures.

More about Random House

The Random House Group is one of the largest general book publishing companies in the UK. The Group is based in London and has subsidiary companies in Australia, New Zealand and India, with a joint venture in South Africa called Random House Struik. The Group comprises five publishing companies: Cornerstone Publishing, CCV, Ebury Publishing, Random House Children's Books and Transworld Publishers, boasting more than 40 diverse and highly respected imprints. The Random House Group distribution business services its own imprints as well as 60 other UK publishers. The Random House Group is an independently managed subsidiary of Random House Inc in the US, the trade book publishing division of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world's largest and most diversified integrated media companies.

    For more information, contact:

    Stardoll Network
    Email: joan@stardoll.com

    Random House Children's Books
    Email: clarehallcraggs@randomhouse.co.uk

SOURCE Stardoll.com