iWorld
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs launches its first video game in India
Mumbai: The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italian MFA) has launched Italy Land of Wonders, a video game that aims to promote the country’s culture and heritage. The title is available to download for free on App Store and on Google Play.
As with all the cultural initiatives by italiana.esteri.it, Italy Land of Wonders is part of Italian MFA’s general post-Covid programming strategy aimed at supporting Italian culture as well as creative sectors. The interactive game is targeted at both children and adults and is currently available in English for iOS and Android, smartphone and tablet, via italiana.esteri.it, Italian MFA’s new portal dedicated to Italian culture in the world, the official statement read.
The game has several interesting characters, who will help users explore Italy. From opera to baroque to famous movie soundtracks, the original scores in the video game are inspired by the great Italian classics. The music helps set the mood to a game that is also an engaging and informative learning tool for schools that teach Italian as a foreign language. Itlay Land of Wonders also serves as a travel guide, thanks to a collection of 600 articles filled with stories, news, and fun facts.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, director-general for cultural and economic promotion and innovation, ambassador Lorenzo Angeloni, said, “Today, the mobile gaming market is one of the main channels for the diffusion of every type of content, including cultural and informative topics. It’s our job to leverage any opportunity we see to promote our country and its culture to the world. This is why we have embraced the mobile platform and are communicating in a way that is innovative not only for our Ministry but also for Italy’s public administration in general. We are engaging with a younger audience with ‘Italy Land of wonders’ and it is our objective to engage people from all over the world and to get them interested in our country and its beauties, creating a sense of familiarity that can guide them, one day, to the actual discovery of our territories and our products.”
“’Italy Land of wonders’ isn’t just an enjoyable mobile game – it’s a real Made in Italy product, skilfully mixing culture and technology,” Angeloni added.
The game is being launched at a time where India has placed itself on the top in the global gaming industry. As per SensorTower’s data, the first nine months of 2020 saw India rise to the number one spot in mobile game downloads worldwide, clocking 7.3 billion installs and raking in a 17 per cent market share of the installs volume.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
