Piczo social network merged into rival Stardoll

by Staff, Brand Republic 09-Mar-09, 09:00

LONDON - Youth-focused social networking websites Piczo and Stardoll have merged to create the Stardoll Network, an online portal for girls and young women up to the age of 20 and reaching over 20m users a month.

Piczo, which launched in 2004, allows users to design their own web pages and claims over 30m users worldwide, mostly in the US and UK.

Piczo will continue to be run as an independent site on the Stardoll Network.

Stardoll, which also launched in 2004, is a website for tweens to create and dress virtual dolls, with over 27m members.

Stardoll's Paperdollheaven.com, which launched last December is a similar website for a young users and will also be included in the network.

Jim Conning, founder of Piczo, said: "Joining the Stardoll Network is a great way for Piczo to continue to grow and offer both a unique product for the teen audience and an even more valuable proposition for advertisers seeking to reach that audience.

"Both sites are focused on providing fun ways for members to explore and express their creativity online. We look forward to working with the Stardoll team to make Piczo even better."