Hello Kitty Online to Begin Closed Beta; Playhut Inc's GoLive2 Announces Hello Kitty Land

Hello Kitty Online, the Sanrio-themed virtual world aimed at young women, is set to begin a closed beta on April 23 that will run until May 7, reports Massively. The world, which was announced in February, sounds like a different project from the Hello Kitty Land that  Playhut Inc's GoLive2 division announced the rights for today.   GoLive2 has now licensed its interactive toys to Sanrio in an agreement "which includes the creation of a new Hello Kitty virtual world." That's right: in addition to the 100+ youth worlds out there, it looks like there are now two Hello Kitty worlds.

"Hello Kitty is a global icon, and this agreement is a testament to the potential of our GoLive2 division,"  Brian Zheng, CEO and President of Playhut, said in a statement. "We are proud to be working with SANRIO, and look forward to adding a new dimension to Hello Kitty through the new model of play we have pioneered with GoLive2."

GoLive2 has already launched two of its own virtual worlds for kids as well as a line of connected toys. The  partnership will introduce four new Hello Kitty figures to the interactive K Line of toys. The figures willl interact with the newly developed Hello Kitty Land, giving users users virtual accessories and services to add to the Hello Kitty section of  GoLive2's existing virtual world as well as existing GoLive2 avatars.

The toys are set for a Fall 2008 launch, though the world will go online through GoLive2.com this summer.