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).

All About: Marron Cream

Year Created: 1985

Marron Cream is a cheerful little rabbit who is good with arts and crafts, as well as baking sweets. She is always optimistic.

She resides in Paris, France.

“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

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.

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.

Featured on SanrioTown This Week

Tomorrow, Tuesday, we'll feature another new Sanrio product that you would surely love.

On Wednesday, get to see the latest addition to the All-Stars, as we'll be showing you this week's featured blog.

On Thursday, it's Dream Studio's turn to be seen, as we'll be featuring a video created by one of the members of SanrioTown.

On Friday, find out who Marron Cream is, this week's featured Sanrio character!

All About: Lullaby Lovables

Year Created: 1976

Winky and Winkle are twin angels who love having fun! They are kind and curious, but also are game when it comes to mischief. Their stuffed bear sidekick Teddy is always with the two when they are on their adventures, and even when they're singing and dancing.

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.

Gung Hei Fat Choi!

In this Lunar New Year, SanrioTown wish you Lung Ma Jing Sung (having the spirit of dragons and horses), Nin Nin Yau Yue (having bounty in excess year after year), and Sum Sheung Sih Shing (accomplishing everything in your heart)!

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! May you all be blessed in the upcoming new year!

February Sanrio Birthday Celebrants

Give these favorite characters one big happy birthday greeting as they celebrate their birthdays this month!

		This little puppy's birthday is on February 4!
		Kuririn and Sakura, the cute hamster couple, celebrate their birthdays on the same day, on February 4.
		This little pig from the countryside of France celebrates his birthday on February 4.
		Patty of the "Patty & Jimmy" duo celebrates her birthday on February 5.
		The little star bear Hoshinowaguma celebrates his birthday on February 7/
		Latte of the bears of Tenorikuma celebrates his birthday on Valentine's Day, February 14! No wonder he has a heart on his ear!
		Mocha celebrates her birthday on February 20.Milk, the youngest puppy friend of Cinnamoroll, celebrates his on February 4.
		Mashumaro Nyanko, the little kitten with a sweet tooth, celebrates her birthday on February 22.
		Pochacco gets to celebrate his birthday this year! This leap-year puppy turns a year older on February 29.

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!

All About: Little World

Year Created: 1975

Though born in different places, Karl and Nina are best friends. Karl is cheerful, but a little shy, while Nina loves red tulips and animals.

SanrioTown Blog of the Week!

Gone are the days where fathers are distant to their kids, spending more time outside the house than with the children. Now, they are more pro-active in their role in the family in every sense, from having fun with them to helping them in school stuff. Such is the case of this blogger.

"All About Kyle" is made by a father and a husband (another male blogger here on SanrioTown!) Most of his entries are centered on his son, Jared Kyle, and the rest of his family, whom he is very close to. His entries are about being a father, a husband, and even as a son. His stories follow that theme, and his tone ranges from the humorous (such as the adventures he, his wife, and his son have) to the serious (what it's like to be a family man).

Read up on his stories by going to http://blog.sanriotown.com/jaredkyle:hellokitty.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!

New Quizzes on the SanrioTown Quiz Center

Can't get enough of online quizzes? The SanrioTown Quiz Center has added three more quizzes for your enjoyment!

You can actually get a taste of one of the quizzes by visiting the Quiz Center even without a SanrioTown account. If you want to check out the other quizzes, sign up for a SanrioTown account now! Don't worry, registration is free! You can also enjoy the other benefits of being part of SanrioTown, such as having your own blog, posting your videos, interacting in the forums, and downloading exclusive SanrioTown goodies.

Check it out now!

All About: Little Wonder Story

Year Created: 1985

Real Names: Ginger Brown and Shari Whitefield

Ginger is the little brown bear. He is mild-mannered but serious, and he enjoys making and building things.

Shari is the little white rabbit. She is very lively and talkative, and she loves playing along the riverbanks and exploring the forest.

SanrioTown Blog of the Week!

Take a look at this great example of a modern-day mommy!

"Mrs. Awesome Planet" is called an "experimental" blog by its writer. She mostly talks about her adventures as a mother of her two young sons. She has shopping tips and suggestions for events for mommies and their kids, so this is something that women with children would definitely enjoy reading up on. She also has ideas for family vacations and activities that everyone would get to enjoy, from the daddy of the family to the young ones!

Know more of Mrs. Awesome Planet's world by visiting http://blog.sanriotown.com/mrsawesomeplanet:hellokitty.com.

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!

This Week on SanrioTown

What's the latest Sanrio surprise. Check it out tomorrow, on Tuesday!

Is your blog the latest all-star addition? Find out on Wednesday!

On Thursday, you can find out if your Dream Studio creation is this week's featured video.

What's the story behind the Little Wonder Story? Find out this Friday!