ants, as well as new original properties like Monkey World (working title), are being put into development. In addition, Nickelodeon announced that a new virtual destination, World of Neopia (working title), is in production and expected to launch in the next year.

The new worlds will be developed out of Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group's Virtual World Studios (formerly titled NeoStudios, announced in July 2007), which will develop virtual destinations for kids, tweens, teens, and families each year, while continuing to innovate upon the company's existing virtual worlds.

"For our audiences, virtual worlds are the convergence of gaming, entertainment and community online, and by announcing these new worlds, we are ensuring that our content pipeline is going to remain fresh and vibrant," says Steve Youngwood, Nickelodeon/MTVN kids and family group executive vice president of digital media. "We are very fortunate to have a digital production studio that, like our linear animation studio in Burbank, will be dedicated to creating great new content experiences for our audiences both with our existing brands and properties and new, original ones."

Additionally, Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group will continue to evolve and add innovative experiences to its current virtual worlds. Over the next few months, the Nicktropolis will add new environments such as a comic book store, pirate ship themed area, and another centered on the new Nickelodeon series “The Mighty B,” co-created by Amy Poehler (“Saturday Night Live”). A regionalized version of Nicktropolis will also launch in the U.K. in April.