Travel the World Event on Sanriotown!

What would be your ultimate vacation place? Sanrio Puroland in Tokyo? The Louvre Museum in Paris? Or is it Surfer’s Paradise in Gold Coast? No matter where it is, if you've been there, let us know your story and get the chance not only to be featured on Sanriotown’s first ever Travel the World Event and win incredible prizes!

Share your bits and pieces from your wonderful trip, from the yummy food you tasted, to the gadgets you bought, or nice scenery you saw. Submit pictures along with a description about the trip and share with everyone at Sanriotown!

One blogger will be chosen from the pool of articles every month and be featured on the official Travel the World blog as an official winner along with other prizes!

To know more about this awesome event, you can check out the blog by clicking here.

You will need a Sanriotown account with the blog service subscribed to in order to participate in this event, so if you haven’t done so - sign up and activate your blog service now!

Bon voyage!

Hello Kitty and Friends 3-D Animation Premiere

People of Hong Kong, rejoice! The Adventures of Hello Kitty and Friends are making their debut on the TVB network tomorrow, 16 February, at 4 in the afternoon. Join Hello Kitty, Pochacco, Keroppi, Cinnamoroll, Dear Daniel, My Melody and the rest of the gang as they have fun in Sanrio Town. Hurray!

By the way, more good news for Hello Kitty fans: last February 9, 2008, The Adventures of Hello Kitty and Friends was aired in Italy and was very well-received. Here is the show's introduction (in Italian, of course).

“Love Is…” Valentine’s Video-Making Contest

February is the month of hearts! We at Dream Studio’s Director’s Club want to highlight this special occasion, and we want you to be a part of it!

“What Is Love?” Unleash your creativity and use pictures to tell us what love means to you. It does not need to be romantic love: you can also show your appreciation for your parents, your brothers and sisters, your pets, and just about anything and everything that has a special place in your heart.

1. Pictures should be personal and should clearly show what love means to you. Copyrighted images are not allowed.

2. At least two Dream Studio effects should be incorporated in the video.

3. Video entries should have a minimum of five slides. The video does not have to be Sanrio-themed.

4. The use of background music is highly encouraged.

5. E-mail the URL to the Director’s Club (directors_club@hellokitty.com) with the subject “DS Contest Entry: Love Is“. Only the videos that have been sent to this addressed will be recognized as official entries.

6. Multiple entries are allowed.

7. No offensive materials, violent and explicit/sexual content should be used.

8. The competition timeline is between Feb 14 and Feb 29.

9. SanrioTown reserves any rights to use the videos, in whole or in part.

1. The SanrioTown moderators will choose the top entries. Members could then vote for the videos they liked the best.

2. Winners will be announced on SanrioTown.com on the Director’s Club official blog by the first week of March 2008.

3. Winners will be notified by e-mail and the prize sent by courier.

Grand Prize

1. The grand prize winner will win this 1GB LIMITED EDITION Hello Kitty USB Memory Stick, a unique little gadget that’s just about the size of a paperclip! This is not available in stores, so this is truly a special prize for our winner exclusively from SanrioTown!

2. The winner will also receive a Premium E-mail Account here in SanrioTown, where they will get twice the mail storage space, POP3 access and E-mail forwarding.

3. The winning video will appear as the top Editor’s Pick for a week upon winning.

4. A custom badge will be placed at the lower right corner of their winning video, indicating that it has won the grand prize for our contest.

First and Second Runners Up

1. The first and second runners up will also receive one (1) Limited Edition Hello Kitty USB Memory Stick each.

2. A custom badge will be placed at the lower right corner of their winning videos, indicating that they have also won the contest.

So what are you waiting for? Send us those videos and share with us your definition of love! If you have any questions, please email directors_club@hellokitty.com or check out the official forum thread!

Technorati tags: valentines day, february, love, hearts, contest, competition, sanriotown, dream studio, directors club

Happy Valentine's Day!

We at SanrioTown would like to wish all of you a very Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a video we made for you to enjoy on this occasion.

If you can't see it, please visit http://video.sanriotown.com/video/bfd6f30ff02558cc. We hope that you and your loved ones will be able to bond on this special day.

Hello Kitty MMORPG Goes Beta

Sanrio Digital’s “Hello Kitty Online” accepting players for closed beta

Hong Kong – February 12, 2008: Sanrio Digital (www.sanriodigital.com) today announced the closed beta launch of “Hello Kitty Online”, a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) based on the famous Sanrio characters. Hello Kitty Online allows players to explore and adventure in Sanrio’s fantasy world, a magical land that has recently fallen under the influence of a mysterious and malevolent power.

Players for the closed beta version are invited to apply at the official game site (www.hellokittyonline.com) or community site (www.sanriotown.com) and experience Hello Kitty Online in advance of the game release expected in the second half of 2008. Targeting female players from their pre-teens to twenties, Hello Kitty Online is the first installable MMORPG to set its sights on this demographic profile.

Hello Kitty Online is fully integrated with official Sanrio portal SanrioTown.com, which utilizes blogs, email, video sharing, Sanrio merchandise sales and more to create a digital and social experience accessible at any time. Players of Hello Kitty Online can extend their game experience on SanrioTown.com by interacting with other players, purchasing upgrades for their in-game characters, etc.

In addition to the standard MMORPG features such as customizable avatars, guilds, skill systems, and player economy, some of the outstanding Hello Kitty Online features include:

• Unique game world: a persistent, beautifully designed environment where thousands of players and NPCs live, explore and quest in a magical world with real and imaginary zones such as the Flower Kingdom, Tokyo, Paris, Moscow, and more. Real world locations offer players the ability to learn about those places.

• Unique NPCs: players will encounter and interact with popular Sanrio characters such as Hello Kitty, Badtz-Maru, My Melody, Keroppi, and many others, all animated with a variety of contextual facial expressions.

• Free to play: Hello Kitty Online is downloaded and played free of charge. There are no subscription fees.

• Character upgrades: the Item Mall allows players to use real money to purchase special items and upgrades for characters.

• Player housing: players can build and customize their own houses after acquiring the necessary licenses and materials. Houses depreciate over time and need to be maintained properly or will fall in disuse. A homeowner can invite someone to visit by making an in-game telephone call, and the player called will automatically be transported to the house if she agrees.

• Crafting system: Hello Kitty Online has an extensive crafting system with output such as tools & weapons, farming implements & furniture, a wide variety of cooked dishes, and clothing for decorative and stat-modifying items. Raw materials include wood, minerals and metals, and crops.

• Farming: players can run their own farms, which offer extra storage room and have the potential to produce important raw materials. The farming system incorporates a number of variables such as fertility, pest infestations, and crop characteristics.

• A different focus: although it has a sophisticated combat system, unlike other MMORPGs combat need not be a primary objective for players of Hello Kitty Online. There are many puzzles to be solved, mini-games to compete in, story lines to follow, and adventures to experience.

SanrioTown Blog of the Week

SanrioTown's getting a lot of mommy bloggers! This just shows that Hello Kitty and friends will always be appealing no matter what age!

Ninaclaren's "Growng Up with Kitty" blog has something for moms and Hello Kitty fans all over. Being a fan of the cute white feline since she was a little girl because of her mother, she has shared her love for Hello Kitty for her own daughter. Cute, eh?

She doesn't just talk about Hello Kitty, though. She also features restaurants (complete with pictures of yummy food!), events, and significant events of her life, especially tales about being a mother to her two children, a boy and a girl, and stories about being a wife.

To know about her and her stories, please visit http://blog.sanriotown.com/ninaclaren:hellokitty.com.

Hello Kitty Watch

Stay on time with the help of Hello Kitty!

This Hello Kitty watch is a must-have for the white feline's fans, because it has been kittified in just about every aspect. From its face, to its straps, to its backlight, and even to its back, all of its parts proudly display Hello Kitty's cuteness.

The watch is waterproof, and it can also serve both as a timer and an alarm clock. It also has the world time of 29 time zones, and has daylight saving settings.

The watch costs 8,925 yen.

Dream Studio Video of the Week!

Happy Lunar New Year to all of you! The reign of the piggies is now over, because we've now entered the Year of the Rat! In celebration, we made this video just for you! To check it out if you don't see it here, please visit http://video.sanriotown.com/video/1eb95adf486d22a4.


Our featured video this week has the Chinese New Year as its theme as well. Check out kt_sanctuary's "Happy Chinese New Year!", a video featuring items for that special occasion, but with a Hello Kitty twist! Check it out by visiting http://video.sanriotown.com/video/057aa96fc826fbed.

Freebies Fly in this February!

The February downloads are now up for grabs! You can choose from any of the wallpapers, MSN themes and icons, and other stuff for absolutely free! What's more, animated screensavers are now available for your downloading pleasure. Choose your favorite character from the list to display on your computer!

All you need to be able to download these fun items is your SanrioTown account. If you don't have one yet, go and get one now! Don't worry, signing up is absolutely free, and you can enjoy other features from the official online community of Sanrio.

Check it out now at SanrioTown.com!

Valentine's Day with Hello Kitty

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. What better way to celebrate that day of sweetness by having sweet Hello Kitty with you?

Sanrio has released two heart-shaped pillows with Hello Kitty's face as its design, just in time for Valentine's Day. These are made of polyester, and are big enough to be huggable - you can even pour your heart out to her as you squeeze the pillow tight!

Dream Studio Video of the Week!

Get to do a little bit of sight-seeing with this week's featured Dream Studio creation.

This week is going to be a little different, because we'll be featuring two videos instead of one. Why, you ask? Because komakatze, the creator of these, actually made it into two parts, so we'll be featuring both to give you a maximum virtual tour.

Impressions Gran Canaria and Impressions Gran Canaria, 2 feature the landscape, structures, and the way of life of the people of Gran Canaria, a Spanish island near Africa.

The pictures are rustic and go far beyond what you see on typical postcards, showing how the people of Gran Canaria actually see the island. The rawness of the shots are actually what makes the place quite enticing to visit, because there is something in the rugged beauty of the place that makes them appealing. It's really a very interesting and gorgeous place, and the pictures and the videos capture these perfectly.

To view these videos, please visit http://video.sanriotown.com/video/aaf83190842670b2 and http://video.sanriotown.com/video/7c26f1c47c51dcfa.

Hello Kitty Has a Mouth!

Strange news to Hello Kitty fans: Sanrio Japan recently released a toy collection featuring their key icon not only with a mouth, but without a nose as well.

There are three "mouthed" Hello Kitty designs you can choose from, each of which has three items following that: a hair tie, a mini-towel, and a wire mascot. You can twist and turn the toy in whatever position you want her to be, because the limbs are pretty flexible. You can even make her balance on one foot, because its hands and feet have magnets that you can attach to a metallic surface to keep her on her toes.

Click on the photos to view the toys from the Sanrio Japan site. Thanks to kt_sanctuary for featuring this!

SanrioTown Dream Studio Video of the Week!

Today's featured video is obviously made by a Hello Kitty lover!

"Everything Hello Kitty" not only has pictures of stuff with Hello Kitty's cute face on these, but viewers can actually see how much effort has been put into making this video. From the images to the descriptions of the items, you can see a load of effects used to form slides that are very interesting to watch - cohesion is the key here, because these don't end up distracting people from checking out what the things are, but actually highlights the cool factor of these.

To view the video, please visit http://video.sanriotown.com/video/088abecaa1583d25.

Hello Kitty, Swarovski Crystals, and You

Get some Hello Kitty bling on to your things!

Just about every gadget and gizmo that you have can not only be Kittified, but can now be made to sparkle as well! Mobile phones, mp3 players, digital cameras, consoles, and just about any accessory that you want to have decorated with Hello Kitty's face in Swarovsky crystals is now possible, so you can show just about everyone your love for your beloved kitty Sanrio character. You may even get to have it done in different colors, according to your taste!

Find out more about it by visiting Momoberry.

Blog of the Week!

This week's featured blogger really bring her love for Sanrio in a creative level! lilah, author of "hello earth" shows that she can be productive while retaining her love for Hello Kitty - and she's got the pictures to prove this.

What gives the blog that special quality would be the pictures she includes in her entries. All of these are really cute images that showcase her interests, including items from her Sanrio collection to cookies she's baked that were shaped like Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters. One can't help but smile at the cuteness in the blog.

To check her journal out, please visit http://blog.sanriotown.com/lilah:mymelody.com/.

Kimora Lee Simmons for Hello Kitty

American designer Kimora Lee Simmons has released her own kitty-tastic line!

Kimora Lee Simmons, a model-turned-designer/entrepreneur has created her own line of Hello Kitty items, elegant jewelry and watches bearing the well-known feline face. She has five Hello Kitty collections to boast of: Glam Kitty, Simply Kitty, Princess Kitty, Zodiac Kitty, and Watches.

Find out more about it by clicking here.

SanrioTown Dream Srudio Video of the Week!

We're right smack in between Christmas and New Year, so what better way to celebrate this season by featuring a video highlighting the holidays- but with a Sanrio twist?

"Merry Christmas Hello Kitty", made by filipinogirl, is a collection of holiday pictures featuring Hello Kitty, and occasionally joined by her twin sister Mimmy, Dear Daniel, and her other friends. There is even a mini-story in the video, what with the captions added by the maker of the video. Also, if you pay attention to the slides, you'll be able to catch a few surprises that would make you smile.:D

You can watch the video by going to http://video.sanriotown.com/video/2cca2fefcb47f7fc.

Merry Christmas!

All of us here on SanrioTown wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! May all of you and your loved ones have a very special holiday.

SanrioTown Blog of the Week!

We've got another New Yorker as our featured blogger! Blog-Elie is not just a blog about the Big Apple, although we do get to read tales about it (ever heard about Oleg, the human computer/cab driver?). She also has stories to tell about her baking adventures, shopping finds, and of course, Hello Kitty sights and goodies!

The owner is a web designer whose "interests include archeology and dental floss". While she admits that her blog does not have a general theme and that her posts would be all over the place, we think this is what makes it interesting. After all, it's fun when you can't always predict what you'll see next, right?

You can check the blog out at http://blog.sanriotown.com/omelette:hellokitty.com/.

Animated E-Cards on SanrioTown

Getting bored with plain ol' pictures? Check out the E-Cards section of SanrioTown and see animated greetings that you and your friends would be glad to give and receive!

These are just a couple of the new designs you can send/download. These aren't just limited to the holiday seasons: animated E-cards are available on virtually every category on SanrioTown, so you can send a cool greeting card to your loved ones for just about every occasion.

You can do so by logging in to your SanrioTown account. If you haven't got one yet, register now - it's free!