The Hello Kitty brand is cute and wholesome and girls tend to get attached to it when they are very young. But, Robert Ferrari, vice president of publishing and business development, Sanrio Digital, explained that unlike some other brands, girls don’t grow away from Hello Kitty. Taking Hello Kitty into the virtual word is just another means of helping the brand be more relevant to its fans. Sanrio Digital has already launched “Hello Kitty Birthday Adventures,” on the Nintendo DS and later in the year will be bringing out “Hello Kitty Seasons,” for the Nintendo Wii. For pure online play there’s the MMOG “Hello Kitty Online,” that went live in August. Facebook apps are being considered and iPhone apps are already available.

“We invite all Sanrio and Hello Kitty fans to join our community portal, SanrioTown, where membership is free,” Ferrari said. “We provide all Sanrio fans with a personal e-mail address. For instance a fan could be ‘[email protected]’ as her e-mail address. There are several variations available and it’s a fully functional e-mail that lets our fans really identify with the brand. Members of SanrioTown also get a personal blog and some video creation tools. There are mini games and monthly downloads. It’s a great place for Sanrio fans to interact with the brand and each other.”

Uniquely, SanrioTown’s features are integrated into “Hello Kitty Online.” This means that during the game, if a player clicks on the avatar of a SanrioTown member, it would be possible to view her blog or video. Clicking on your own avatar during the game would allow you to check your SanrioTown e-mail. It’s a way for Sanrio fans to be more connected both with each other and with those in their wider worlds.

Hello Kitty is all about spreading good cheer and right now Sanrio Digital is making that easy. “Giving to charity is intrinsic to our business strategy,” Ferrari said. “We encourage Sanrio fans to go online and play for a good cause with our Chocolate Harbor Rescue event which is part of Hello Kitty Online.”

Through Sept. 30, Hello Kitty Online players will mop up chocolates during the Chocolate Harbor Rescue to earn donation points. These will be used to calculate donations, which will be divided equally, between the organization Oceana, which is studying the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and for UNICEF’s flood relief efforts in Pakistan. If you’ve never played a massively multi-player online game (MMOG) it’s really easy, but you’ll need a PC and broadband connection. A tutorial introduces players to the game features and even offers rewards for completion. Give it a try and you’ll soon be smiling.