AOL UK Launches Casual Gaming Website FlyTrapGames.com

LONDON, March 31, 2009 – AOL UK today announces the launch of FlyTrapGames.com, http://www.flytrapgames.com, a new consumer site that will offer an insight into the best in casual gaming.

FlyTrapGames.com has been set up as the ultimate guide to the casual games world – whether they are played free online, on your mobile phone as part of the daily commute or your traditional games console.  
 
Sean O’Connell, AOL Europe’s Director of Games, says: “We saw a gap in the market for an unbiased, editorially-led site about casual gaming. This is an opportunity for AOL to create a completely new community, which will offer a compelling vehicle for advertising partners to reach an engaged, niche audience.”
 
FlyTrapGames.com aims to capitalise on the rapid growth in casual games across multiple platforms and carve out its own engaged and unique audience by revealing the best the web has to offer for online fun, as well as key releases on mobile and consoles
 
“While there are hundreds of sites out there where you can play free online games, FlyTrapGames gives gamers a unique curated guide to this world,” says O’Connell. “We aim to highlight the best online games in the world at any given moment.”
 
AOL already has a pedigree in traditional online games with http://games.aol.co.uk/ reaching almost 1 million unique visitors every month*. This new  site further expands AOL’s reach and appeal to this sector, offering both an entertaining entry point to the casual gaming world, and a familiar, community focused, entertaining resource for the regular user.

FlyTrapGames is the latest in a yearlong campaign to launch more than 30 new websites across the MediaGlow network. MediaGlow launched in January 2009 to centralise AOL’s entire global publishing efforts.

 Key features of the new site include: 

• Independent views - articles about any online games on any site, not just on AOL
• A mix of both casual online games as well as casual video games, touching on some of the more offbeat independent games available
• Features on scores to beat, hi-scores, hints and tips, top player profiles
• Coverage of casual console and portable games
• Community elements: competitions and interactive comments so you can add your own perspective

Flytrapgames.com is supported by AOL’s digital advertising business, Platform-A, http://platform-a.co.uk, which will offer relevant advertising opportunities in both display advertising as well as content-targeted links on the website.

* Source: comScore Media Metrix, February 2009

About MediaGlow
MediaGlow, AOL’s publishing business unit formed in early 2009, centralises AOL’s programming efforts, including AOL.com, AOL’s content verticals and commerce and marketplace channels, dozens of niche sites, and state-of-the-art studios in Los Angeles and New York City. In all, MediaGlow operates more than 70 sites and attracts more than 70 million unique visitors each month, according to comScore Media Metrix. It plans to launch more than 30 new sites in 2009. MediaGlow, along with AOL’s advertising business, Platform-A, and its social media business, People Networks, represent the three core businesses for AOL.

About  AOL
AOL is a leading provider of digital communications and content to UK consumers. The AOL service and portal deliver a range of market-leading online content, including music, film, sport, news, shopping and community, as well as email, instant messenger, and safety and security features. AOL is also one of the leading online destinations for advertisers in the UK. AOL UK is part of AOL Europe, a business unit of AOL LLC, which operates a leading network of Web brands and is a majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.