The as-yet-unnamed project from Meteor Games creatively blurs the line between massively multiplayer action and social networking.

New company will cross the appeal of social networks, web-based casual games and traditional massively multiplayer online games.

The creators of Neopets Online, Adam Powell and Donna Williams, have formed a new studio dedicated to MMO development. Called "Meteor Studios", the press release can be read after the jump.

Virtual worlds, despite all the press attention of late, are still in the early stages of development. Virtual worlds came into existence several years before YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, but their adoption rates pale in comparison to these services. Only 7 percent of Internet gamers ages 13 and older visit a virtual world on a weekly basis, according to a recent Parks Associates survey.

The original creators of Neopets have founded their own company, Meteor Games, and announced production of an unnamed youth-targeted virtual world project, which features MMO-style gameplay and will benefit from the lessons learned from Neopets, according to CEO Adam Powell. Neopets was originally founded in 1999 and acquired first by private investors and later acquired by Viacom in 2005 for ...

Adam Powell and Donna Williams, the original creators and founders of the online social networking and gaming phenomenon Neopets, have launched Meteor Games, LLC, a new independent game studio based in West Hollywood, Calif.

Virtual worlds, despite all the press attention of late, are still in the early stages of development. Virtual worlds came into existence several years before YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, but their adoption rates pale in comparison to these services. Only 7 percent of Internet gamers ages 13 and older visit a virtual world on a weekly basis, according to a recent Parks Associates survey.

Virtual worlds, despite all the press attention of late, are still in the early stages of development. Virtual worlds came into existence several years before YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, but their adoption rates pale in comparison to these services. Only 7 percent of Internet gamers ages 13 and older visit a virtual world on a weekly basis, according to a recent Parks Associates survey.