New website shows you just can’t keep a good Kitty down

(2010 Microsoft)

While there was certainly a lot of attention being focused on the new kids on the comic book block at Hong Kong Ani-Com and Game fair at the weekend - including the characters from Little Fighter Online - thousands of fans were still paying homage to the little cat whose popularity seems endless.

The Hello Kitty character has again proved one of the most popular among those dressing up and looking for souvenirs at Ani-Com (http://www.ani-com.hk), which runs until Tuesday, and the little cat without a mouth is now responsible for an industry of her own, reaping more than US$1 billion (766 million euro) a year for its creators, who first unleashed her on the public back in 1975.

The latest to jump on the bandwagon has been the MSN corporation, which has just established an online Hello Kitty theme park with Sanrio (http://promotion.hk.msn.com/nexthellokitty/), which combines online games and downloads with a little bit of advertising for Sony Ericsson's latest range of Hello Kitty-themed mobile phones.

It's a win-win situation for all involved, according to the company behind the online theme park.

"It will engage users to spend more time on MSN as they explore the whole theme park. The Hello Kitty online game and free downloads of MSN theme packs will also drive them to download and keep using Windows Live Messenger," Eric Poon, creative director of Agenda - the digital agency that developed this campaign - was reported as saying.

Already this year there have been reports that a Hello Kitty range of wines is being developed - to go with the comic series, collectables, assorted websites and a live show which has its next stop in the Chinese city of Macau.

The little cat has far-reaching influence in Asia. Famously, back in 2007, Thai police officers who committed minor infractions such as showing up late for work were made to wear Hello Kitty armbands while on duty as punishment.

Hello Kitty online:

http://promotion.hk.msn.com/nexthellokitty/

http://www.hellokittyonline.com/

Hello Kitty live: https://www.cotaiticketing.com

MS