Virgin announces 'iTunes for video games'

A World of My Own (AWOMO), a joint project between Virgin Games and Game Domain International, is expected to "revolutionise" the way games are sold, the two companies believe.

Promising rapid download speeds--claiming to enable play within minutes--greater security, and ease of use, the virtual world is expected to see "downloading of video games to grow rapidly."

Game publishers including Koch Media are said to have already registered their support and are "enthusiastic" about participating in the project.

Virgin's chairman, Sir Richard Branson, commented, "This is a really exciting development for us, as it gives us the opportunity to do for PC games what iTunes has done for music. The GDI technology will revolutionise how the mass market will play games and will give them more choice for less money."

The AWOMO platform is due to launch later in 2007, with "a large selection of games available." The companies are expecting international demand to be high.