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Gaia Online, the world’s most active online community, has launched its upcoming casual MMO into closed beta. Over 10,000 community members will be able to participate in the beta program. Gaia Online proudly announces that the game’s official name will be “zOMG!”, a term generated from the virtual world’s active community. In development since 2006, zOMG! is scheduled for release this summer, and will give the community a new way to play, socialize, and explore.

In April, Gaia Online announced that it would accept requests for entry into the beta program. Over 120,000 applications to enter the closed beta were submitted by community members. Players selected from Gaia Online’s active community of over five million will get the chance to play in-game with the creators of zOMG! and provide feedback on the game.

“Our Gaian community is loyal, vocal and not afraid to ask for what they want,” said David Georgeson, senior developer of zOMG! at Gaia Online. “It only makes sense for online worlds to place a huge emphasis on community involvement. In our case, they aren’t just the people who will play the game; they’re the ones who asked for it.”

Designed in a flash-based environment that is free and requires no downloads, players will interact in zOMG! by engaging in quests, battling monsters, exploring the beautiful worlds and socializing with friends. As an extension of the Gaia Online virtual world, the MMO game extends the current Gaia Online offerings, like mini games, customizable avatars, forums, and numerous creative and social outlets.

Visit www.zomg.com for more information about the closed beta program and new images from zOMG!.

Empire Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of Silverstar Holdings (NASDAQ: SSTR), today announced that the mystery solving game, Unsolved Crimes, will surface in the U.S. on Nintendo DS™ this fall. The absorbing and character-driven adventure experience will integrate players in the thrills of an action game with the mental challenges of a 3D crime investigation.

In Unsolved Crimes, players will take the role of a rookie detective as part of the New York police department homicide division. An aspiring model, Betsy Blake, has disappeared and a social outcast and loner is the prime suspect. The case is a lot deeper than it appears on the surface. Crime is rampant in the city and Blake’s disappearance is the latest in a frightening series of events that are slowly bringing New York to its knees. The local police department is having a hard time cracking the case and Blake’s safe return lies in the detectives’ hands to solve the mystery before it’s too late.

Unsolved Crimes integrates three gaming elements – an action game, a 3D crime investigation and a crime quiz – to provide players with a unique, absorbing experience. The game fully utilizes the DS’ unique Dual Screen, allowing players to immerse themselves in the New York environments. The innovative use of the stylus will allow players to trace marks, routes and memos on suspicious items discovered at crime scenes, all allowing players to move closer to solving the kidnapping mystery. The engaging storyline runs throughout the game, fully immersing players in the world of Unsolved Crimes with more than eight independent cases to solve in the diverse and fully interactive environments.

Lifetime Games, a division of Lifetime Networks, today announced a new strategic partnership with Vivity Labs’ FitBrains.com. The partnership will expand the online game offerings of myLifetime.com to include the brain fitness games by Fit Brains. With over 1 million monthly visitors, myLifetime.com’s Games channel is one of the web’s top 25 online game destinations, and this new partnership will increase the variety of games the site has to offer. Starting in August, visitors will have access to Lifetime’s new brain games channel through http://www.myLifetime.com/fun-games/games .

Award winning neuropsychologist, Dr. Paul Nussbaum, an adjunct Associate Professor in Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, designed the fun and casual games found on Fit Brains with the help of the professional game designers at Vivity Labs. Fit Brains’ games are proven to enhance brain performance while targeting the five major cognitive brain functions – memory, concentration, language, executive functions (logic and reasoning), and visual-spatial skills.

Research has shown that the brain begins to slow down as early as age 25 but with regular brain exercise, it can create new neural connections and pathways at any age. Fit Brains’ games are tightly integrated with a suite of personalization tools that provide each individual with feedback and brain metrics to track performance and progress, so trainees can see the benefits of their playtime.

“When we think about fitness we think of our physical bodies and not our brains, but with the amount of time we spend in front of a computer, while at work or at home, it would be great to devote a few minutes a day to improving our mental fitness,” says Kris Soumas, VP of Games & Interactive, Lifetime Networks. “Now visitors to myLifetime.com will have access to a new suite of games that are not only entertaining and fun, but also proven to be good for the brain.”

“Partnering with Lifetime provides our fun and easy to play brain training games to a dynamic female audience in search of ways to postpone the effects of aging,” said Michael Cole, founder and CEO of Fit Brains. “Playing games on the web does not have to be a mindless activity, and we hope to offer the Lifetime audience a gameplay experience that they can enjoy and feel good about.”