'Turma de Monica' ('Monica's Gang') on Zeebo: Beloved Brazilian Comic Characters Serve as Basis for New Educational Applications and Learning Games

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Zeebo, Inc. today announced that it has signed an agreement with Mauricio de Sousa Productions of Brazil to develop and publish a variety of children's interactive educational and entertainment content using characters from the popular Turma de Monica ("Monica's Gang") comic book series. Turma de Monica was created by cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa, and more than one billion Monica comics and books have been published to date. Under the licensing agreement, Monica and other favorite characters from the comic will appear in a total of nine new children's titles created exclusively for the Zeebo 3G-connected digital entertainment and education system in Brazil.

The new titles will be developed in partnership between Mauricio de Sousa Productions and Zeebo Interactive Studios, Zeebo's first-party development studio in Campinas, Brazil. The agreement calls for a series of four "activity center"-style applications, a series of four learning games focused on topics like math and language, and a Monica game. The first of the new titles is targeted for launch in late November 2010 with a second to follow in time for the 2010 Christmas holidays.

"Monica's message of joy has delighted several generations of Brazilian children and has had a huge cultural impact in Brazil and around the world," said Mike Yuen, senior vice president, global content and services, Zeebo, Inc. "We are honored to have the opportunity to carry on the tradition by bringing the Monica universe to life on the Zeebo system, enabling children to learn and play from the comfort of their homes."

"We are very happy with the partnership and to have Monica's Gang featured on the Zeebo platform," said Rodrigo Paiva, Editorial and Multimedia Manager, Mauricio de Sousa Productions. "The Play, Learn and Connect approach is a great market innovation and we are excited about the first Monica's Gang release."

The Zeebo is the world's first 3G-connected digital entertainment and education system. Designed for the next billion consumers in Latin America, Asia and other global markets, the Zeebo enables users to play, learn and connect affordably, securely and wirelessly. Digital distribution of content via 3G networks prevents piracy and enables a convenient, low-cost shopping experience. Users can download localized applications, games and other content, use the Internet, communicate with friends and participate in social networking, all from the comfort of home. User interface software updates occur over the wireless network and are completely transparent to the customer. Consumers simply plug the Zeebo into their television set and the system automatically connects to the ZeeboNet Wireless Network.  

For more information on the Zeebo 3G digital entertainment and educational platform, visit:

Corporate Site: http://www.zeeboinc.com

Brazil Site: http://www.zeebo.com.br

China Site: http://www.zeebo.com.cn

Mexico Site: http://www.zeebo.com.mx

Zeebo Blog: http://www.zeeboinc.com/blog

Twitter News: http://twitter.com/zeebo_news

About Mauricio de Sousa and Mauricio de Sousa Productions

From the drawing board of Brazilian cartoonist/animator/filmmaker Mauricio de Sousa, over 200 cartoon characters for kids have come to life. Mauricio de Sousa, founder and CEO of Mauricio de Sousa Productions, leads a giant comics enterprise that turns out a steady stream of creative artwork for publishing, animation, licensing, live character shows, a web site, promotions and institutional campaigns. And it all began 50 years ago when Mauricio de Sousa, a reporter at that time, decided to switch from journalism to cartoons and started to create children's comics. That was the beginning of Mauricio de Sousa Productions (MSP). Today MSP has a team of over 100 artists. Starting with syndication and comic books, Mauricio has created families of lovable characters: Chuck Billy 'n Folks Bug-a-Boo, Horacio's World, Tina and Pals, Lionel's Kingdom, the Amazonics, Ronaldinho Gaucho, and recently Monica Teen. But always in the lead are the Monica's Gang characters, a bunch of six-and seven-year-olds, each with a unique personality, who have fun doing what kids everywhere like to do. At the heart of the plots is the eternal rivalry between boys and girls to be the leader. With Monica and Jimmy Five, the result is all kinds of funny, lively, action-filled stories.

About Zeebo, Inc.

Zeebo, Inc., a closely held company based in San Diego, California, has developed the Zeebo, a wireless platform to deliver digital entertainment and education content to the next billion consumers in emerging global markets. The system's 3G wireless connectivity allows for rapid, easy delivery of games, applications and other content, free from the risk of piracy. Consumers can buy inexpensive titles, download them directly to the Zeebo and access the Internet, all from the comfort of home. The Zeebo is available throughout Brazil and Mexico, with future rollouts planned in other regions.

About Zeebo Interactive Studios

Zeebo Interactive Studios (ZIS) is Zeebo Inc.'s first-party development studio in Campinas, Brazil. ZIS employs a staff of roughly 50 professionals, including producers, programmers, artists, musicians, designers and quality assurance experts, who create games, educational titles, applications and other software exclusively for Zeebo systems in Brazil, Mexico and other Zeebo markets around the world. Titles developed by ZIS include the Zeebo Football Club, Zeebo Extreme and Zeebo Sports series of games, as well as the Zeeboids avatar management system. In addition to creating original intellectual property (IP), ZIS also develops new content based on third-party licenses and ports existing content created for other hardware platforms to the Zeebo system.

SOURCE Zeebo, Inc.