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NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 2003--Disney's Toontown Online (
www.toontown.com), the first massively multiplayer (MMP) 3D online game created for kids and families, received accolades in the 2003 Webby Awards as the People's Voice award winner in the kids category. Now in its seventh year, The Webby Awards is the leading international honor for Web sites and individual achievement in creativity and technology.
"We are tremendously honored to receive such recognition for Toontown so early in its history," said Ken Goldstein, executive VP and general manager of Disney Online. "The People's Voice Award is especially meaningful for our team because it says that we've impressed the most important critics of all, the wonderful people who are already playing the game. We hope their embrace will soon extend to an increasingly broad fan base."
Disney's Toontown Online is a downloadable, immersive 3-D multiplayer online game designed for both adults and kids as young as seven looking for a nonviolent alternative to online gaming. In the game, players become "Toons," personalized cartoon characters, who join together to save the world from the evil Cogs, a tightly wound group of business robots unleashed by an unsuspecting Scrooge McDuck. All Toons quickly discover that the Cogs are attempting to turn the colorful world of Toontown into a black and white metropolis of skyscrapers and businesses. Since Cogs can't take a joke, Toons confront them with gags, such as squirting flowers and a pie in the face. The game allows participants to play together, communicate in a safe environment, and undertake challenging quests.
Toontown is currently available online at
www.toontown.com for $9.95 per month. A retail version of Disney's Toontown Online, primarily for narrowband households, will be available in September 2003 through a Disney specialty card powered by AT&T Prepaid Web Cents(SM) technology, a new secure payment alternative for consumer purchases of online digital content.
Disney Online
Disney Online (
www.disney.com) produces the number one kids' entertainment and family community destinations on the Internet that consistently reflect the magic that has come to be expected of Disney. Its "neighborhoods," specifically designed for each member of the family, include Disney's Blast (
www.disneyblast.com) and Disney's Toontown Online (
www.toontown.com), both premium subscription services, as well as Disney Store, Destinations, Playhouse Disney, Kids Island, Entertainment, FamilyFun and Main Street Merchants.
Disney Online also produces FamilyFun.com (
www.familyfun.com), the premier online family resource for great ideas, practical advice and fun stuff to do, and Movies.com (
www.movies.com), a leading site that provides a broad array of
reviews and information to help movie fans make the right choice on movie night. Disney Online is a part of The Walt Disney Internet Group, which provides integrated strategic and operational Internet services for The Walt Disney Company's (NYSE
IS) Internet initiatives.
About The Webby Awards
Founded in 1996, The Webby Awards are the leading international honors for consumer Web sites and individual achievement in technology and creativity. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences selects the nominees and winners, and presents the awards event. Sponsors of The 7th Annual Webby Awards include media partners Business 2.0, Fortune and Fortune Small Business magazines; Event partners PricewaterhouseCoopers and Nielsen//NetRatings; Official Sponsors The Creative Group, IDG, Absolut Vodka, Comstock Images, and Rackspace Managed Hosting. For more information visit
http://www.webbyawards.com/.
CONTACT:
The Walt Disney Internet Group
Kim Kerscher, 818/623-3266
Kim.Kerscher@dig.com
or
mPRm Public Relations
323/933-3399
Karen DeMarco,
kdemarco@mprm.com
Kristen Wareham,
kwareham@mprm.com
SOURCE: The Walt Disney Internet Group
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