Lonely Planet branches out into travel games

Guidebook publisher Lonely Planet has launched a new travel game in a bid to give travelers even more ways to access its content.

The new Globe Tripper app, available in the iTunes Store priced at $2.99/€2.39/€1.59, is the international travel brand's first game and allows users to test their knowledge of other countries.

Users can rack up miles as they circle the globe, answering questions on world cultures, history, geography, current events and language which the brand describes as "entertaining, informative and unusual."

Players can post their scores to Twitter and Facebook and compare them through Game Center leaderboards on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

As is to be expected, plenty of Lonely Planet's travel photography and guidebook information is used in the app, which was developed in co-operation with the BBC, its new owner.

Fellow travel publisher Condé Nast, meanwhile, has recently teamed up with Bing to launch its 2011 Gold List app, available now for iPhone and iPad.

The $0.99/€0.79/£0.59 app allows users to search, share and book the 'top' hotels around the world, as selected by over 25,000 readers of the Condé Nast Traveler magazine.

By spinning the globe, users can search for properties and see images featured on this year's Gold List - although the ability to browse through a list easily available online hasn't won praise from everyone, with users giving the app mixed reviews on the iTunes Store.

Globe Tripper: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/globetripper

2011 Gold List: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/2011-gold-list-conde-nast/id433227787?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4