HONG KONG and NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif., March 21, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Artificial Life, Inc. (OTCBB:ALIF), a leading provider of mobile games, today announced a mobile licensing agreement with Starwave Mobile to exclusively publish localized versions of Artificial Life's famous 3G games, V-girl(tm) -- your Virtual Girlfriend and V-boy(tm) -- Your Virtual Boyfriend, in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
The V-girl(tm) and V-boy(tm) applications are role-playing mobile games complete with robust storylines and video components. Players begin by choosing a potential virtual girlfriend or boyfriend among several available candidates before embarking on a virtual courtship. For example, in the V-girl(tm) game, players can interact with a realistic virtual girlfriend supported by artificial intelligence. She can laugh, send text messages and chat about a wide range of topics including art and philosophy or her day at the office. She enjoys receiving gifts such as flowers and candy as well as going on virtual dates in a variety of settings including the local nightclub and movie theaters.
"These innovative mobile experiences from Artificial Life have performed very well internationally and we are excited to work with them on expanding the popular V-girl and V-boy franchises to these new markets," said Ricci Rukavina, vice president product development, Starwave Mobile. "We haven't seen anything comparable to these games in the mobile marketplace today. With their unique, hip concepts and storylines and spectacular animation, we believe they will resonate with several key mobile audiences including teenagers and young adults."
According to m:metrics, as of January 2006, close to 40 percent of mobile subscribers in the U.S. are ages 13-34.
"This is a very exciting business opportunity for us and we are looking forward to working closely with Starwave Mobile to publish our products in three of our core target markets in the world," said Eberhard Schoeneburg, CEO of Artificial Life, Inc. "Starwave Mobile's marketing power, client base, and established working relationships with major operators in these territories are a perfect fit for our mobile know-how and unique 3G technology and products."
About Starwave Mobile
Starwave Mobile is the unit of the Walt Disney Internet Group that licenses and publishes content from third-party companies and non-Disney brands from within The Walt Disney Company. It also develops original, non-Disney branded properties. The Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG) provides strategic leadership and operational management for The Walt Disney Company's (NYSE:DIS) Internet properties including category leaders Disney.com, ESPN.com and ABCNEWS.com. Through relationships with some of the world's largest wireless carriers, WDIG also distributes content and services to wireless users under the Disney brand.
Starwave Mobile maintains key relationships with major carriers in the U.S. and internationally.
About Artificial Life
Artificial Life, Inc. (OTCBB:ALIF) is a public U.S. corporation headquartered in Hong Kong and a leading global provider of award winning mobile technology, content, games and applications (see also: www.artificial-life.com ; www.v-girl.com ; www.v-disco.com ; www.botme.com ; www.v-penguins.com ).
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Artificial Life, Inc.'s business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the "Risk Factors" described in the Company's Annual Report or Forms 10-K, 10-K(SB) or 10-Q(SB) for the recent fiscal years. All information set forth in this press release is as of March 21, 2006 and Artificial Life, Inc. undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.