Hong Kong – February 3, 2009: Sanrio Digital today announced that Hello Kitty Online will open to the public from February 14 to February 17, 2009, allowing new players to participate in the Valentine’s Day “Happy Hearts” event. To play, simply sign up to www.sanriotown.com and start downloading the game client from www.helllokittyonline.com. All players will be able to log in to the game starting from February 14, 2009 20:00 (8pm) Eastern Standard Time.

The “Happy Hearts” event for Founders of Hello Kitty Online will run from February 12 to February 17, 2009. New players will be accepted from February 14 until the end of the event. Happy Hearts will feature exclusive new content and several enhancements to the game:

Special Valentine’s-themed quests
Valentine’s Day under threat! Cupid is missing and so are the romance and friendship of the season. It is up to players of HKO to save Valentine’s Day and prevent the collapse of the greeting card industry. Exclusive items will be awarded to the first players to complete the quest chain.

Improved user interface
User interface enhancements include a higher supported resolution, movable windows, re-sizable chat box, and an improvement to the local area map.

Revamped farming system
The new HKO farming system introduces 8 new and unique farm types while allowing players to participate in cooperative farming. Day cycles and related effects on your plants have been implemented. Plant growth times have been adjusted.

Keyword chat filter
The new chat filter blocks offensive language from private and public chat to ensure a safer and more enjoyable gaming experience for players.

HKO Founders will be able to log in the game on February 12, 2009 at exactly 22:00 EST.  All Sanriotown members will be able to log in from February 14, 2009 at exactly 20:00 (8pm) Eastern Standard Time.  The event will end on February 17, 2009 at 23:59 EST after which Hello Kitty Online will be taken down for further work. To play, users must sign up for a free account at www.sanriotown.com and download the HKO game client from www.hellokittyonline.com.

About Hello Kitty Online
Hello Kitty Online, developed by Sanrio Digital, is the official Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) of Hello Kitty and friends, and the first MMORPG to integrate social networking web services into the game experience. In addition to standard features such as customizable avatars, guilds, skill systems, and player economy, Hello Kitty Online offers a social networking platform including blogs, video sharing, and email services. For more information please visit www.hellokittyonline.com

About Sanrio Digital
Sanrio Digital is a joint venture between Typhoon Games (HK) Ltd. and Sanrio Co. Ltd. Sanrio Digital is responsible for the expansion of Sanrio intellectual property assets into various digital and online media, leveraging an extensive library of original material that includes world-famous brands such as Hello Kitty, Badtz Maru, My Melody, and others. For more information please visit www.sanriodigital.com