(28 September 2007 5:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Digital entertainment services company RealNetworks acquired Game Trust, Inc, a casual game infrastructure company based in New York.

Real plans to add Game Trust's community and commerce capabilities to the technology platform currently offered to Real's games syndication partners.

The transaction is expected to close early in the fourth quarter.

"Our partners want to add social networking to their sites to further engage their game players," said Real's Games Division SVP Harold Zeitz .

"This acquisition will create enhanced consumer experiences for our partners' offerings and for Real's casual games players," added Zeitz.

According to an official statement released, Real powers more than 200 casual games channels owned by popular media outlets and portal companies worldwide.

"We are very excited to join Real and push the casual games industry forward," said Game Trust CEO Adeo Ressi. "This agreement unites the industry's top content, top distribution, and top technology platform. The players will ultimately benefit."

"We're looking forward to implementing Game Trust's technology with Real to enhance our extremely popular games section and strengthen the sense of community on LifetimeTV.com.," said Games at Lifetime VP Kris Soumas.

Game Trust's Game Frame platform is a software platform for community, affinity, and commerce models in online casual games.

Game Trust syndicates the platform to leading media companies around the world. Real will continue to support and strengthen these partnerships.