(26 February 2008 7:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Global mobile handset company Nokia and PopCap Games, which develops and publishes casual games, will bring connected mobile Java games to Nokia's Snap Mobile platform in the US.

The award-winning Chuzzle is the first game to be re-developed by PopCap under a multi-game agreement.

Snap Mobile head of business development Paul Whitaker says, "Snap Mobile is all about bringing fun multiplayer Java games to the masses. With a catalogue of broadly appealing games, PopCap titles are a perfect addition to our growing portfolio."

PopCap director of mobile business development Andrew Stein says, "Downloads of our mobile games continue to grow rapidly and we have learned that consumers are increasingly looking for on-the-go games that allow them to interact with one another.

"To help meet that growing demand, we're happy to cooperate with a company like Nokia that shares our vision of bringing engaging and fun casual games to the mobile mass-market along with a proven track record of efficiently distributing and hosting connected mobile games."

The multiplayer version of Chuzzle will feature community offerings, including chat, leader boards and more. The original single player version of Chuzzle, which was named Casual Game of the Year in 2005 by Billboard's Digital Entertainment and Media Excellence Awards, is expected to be available on a variety of mobile devices powered by Snap Mobile by the end of 2008.