Poptropica® Celebrates Its Fourth Year – and 180 Million Readers – as Leading Publisher of Digital Stories for Kids

Global Business and Brand Licensor Commemorates Fourth Birthday With Special Celebration for Fans

BOSTON – Aug. 31, 2011 – This September, kids everywhere can help celebrate Poptropica’s fourth birthday with special games, costumes and other fun. One of TIME magazine’s Top 50 websites of 2011, Poptropica debuted in September 2007. Today, as many as 10 million kids visit the popular virtual world every month for hours of safe, secure online fun.

“It’s exciting to think that four years ago we quietly launched Poptropica with a single Island, and that today we have 20 Islands and 390 million avatars in our virtual world,” said Jeff Kinney, Poptropica creator and author of the bestselling “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series. “We’re excited about the years ahead. Our mission will always be to provide kids with the best interactive content on the web.”

During Poptropica’s birthday month, all kids can play a fourth-birthday balloon-popping game to try to win a commemorative fourth-birthday costume, complete with a cake to throw. Plus, when they visit the Poptropica store, they can get a free fourth-birthday balloon as a party favor for the celebration.

Poptropica Members will have access to rare Member-only items throughout the month. The popular Light Ninja, Renegade Robot and Limited Edition Robin Hood costumes will all be returning to the Poptropica Store as part of the festivities, for a limited time.

“When we launched Poptropica, our goal was to share stories with a generation of kids empowered with digital and gaming literacy,” said Jess M. Brallier, publisher of Poptropica. “In four short years, our simple notion reconfirmed what every generation of kids truly values. The concept has exploded into a worldwide business phenomenon with toys, game cards and more, but, best of all, we have remained true to our vision.”

Poptropica fans can let the world know of their excitement with a variety of branded merchandise, including game cards, t-shirts, device skins and wall graphics. Plus, they can enjoy their favorite Poptropica characters outside of the computer screen with Poptropica toys, available at Toys”R”Us.

Kids can get Early Access to new Islands with Poptropica Membership. Membership also gives kids unlimited use of all costumes and Gold Cards in the Poptropica Store, allowing them to customize their Poptropicans by choosing from favorites such as the Summer Beach Ball and Wild West Outlaws costumes, special abilities and effects – shrinking other Poptropicans to microscopic size, launching fireworks into the sky, and much more.

Poptropica’s next Island, Mystery Train, is just around the bend, launching with Early Access for Members on Friday, Sept. 9, at 4:21 p.m. Kids can get the latest news on upcoming Islands and more, straight from the Poptropica creators, on the official Poptropica blog.

About Poptropica (http://www.poptropica.com)

Poptropica is a virtual world in which kids explore and play in complete safety. Every month, millions of kids from around the world are entertained and informed by Poptropica’s engaging quests, stories and games.

Kids create a “Poptropican” character to travel the many Islands of Poptropica and use gaming literacy to enjoy a narrative that is often rooted in factual history. Problem-solving skills are honed as kids discover and solve mysteries unique to each Island.

There are always new areas to explore in this ever-expanding world where kids can collect objects, read digital books and comics, watch movies, and compete in head-to-head competition. Parents can always trust that their children are playing – and learning – in a safe online environment.

Poptropica is published by Family Education Network, a part of Pearson, the education, services and technology company. Pearson’s other primary operations include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.