The Nickelodeon Kids and Family Virtual Worlds Group will use PlaySpan technology and services for its virtual goods and microtransactions. The payment platform will power the company's Neocash virtual world currency across multiple payment provides like credit cards and prepaid cards.

PlaySpan, a publisher-sponsored in-game commerce network, says its monetization solutions are used in over 1,000 online games, virtual worlds, and social networks. Nickelodeon will also use PlaySpan subsidiary PayByCash to offer more than 80 global payment methods for virtual items/currency to its users.

The Nickelodeon Kids and Family Virtual Worlds Group operates several online virtual worlds targeting kids, tweens, teens, and families, such as Petpet Park and Neopets, the latter of which has over 45 million players. The company is also currently developing two other projects, World of Neopia and Monkey World (working titles).

"There is meaningful entertainment value in premium experiences for our community," says Kyra Reppen, SVP and General Manager at Nickelodeon Kids and Family Virtual Worlds Group. "We want to make buying virtual currency and managing purchases as easy and convenient as possible for our players, and PlaySpan is a great partner to help us do that."