Inside Social Games

EA, Hasbro roll out offline goods for premium online content — In an interesting twist on virtual goods, game-maker EA and toy-maker Hasbro have launched an online site for the latter company’s Littlest Pet Shop franchise. Kids can buy real stuffed animals, then use an access code on the animal to access premium features on the site.

Offerpal gets surveys — The offers company introduced a new standalone component of its virtual goods monetization service, where users can earn virtual currency in exchange for filling out surveys. It’s a sort of service that companies like Peanut Labs have offered for years. Offerpal is also integrating surveys in with its other, established offer services.

Zong partners with Mochi Media — Mochi’s Flash-based games will now let users purchase its virtual currency, Mochi Coins, using Zong’s mobile payment service. This way, users can buy Coins by billing their mobile phone accounts. Besides social games on Facebook and MySpace, Zong is also used in gaming sites including IMVU, Gaia Online and Outspark.

MyYearbook uses virtual goods for charity drive — Teen-focused social network myYearbook has built its own applications, and it used one of them, “Causes,” to fundraise for 16 charities. Users “donated” the social network’s Lunch Money currency to causes like grains of rice, research hours, and more. It raised $250,00 in total.