Salt Lake City-based developer Smart Bomb Interactive has added Joi Podgorny to its team as the director of Community Engagement for upcoming kids virtual world National Geographic’s Animal Jam. Her responsibilities will include building and overseeing all aspects of community management for Animal Jam.

The online world is scheduled to launch this summer and will target children aged 5-9 years old. Players will create, customize, and dress animal avatars for various "exploration adventures." They'll also design habitat areas for their animals, play mini-games with friends, and complete multiplayer quests/expeditions.

Prior to Smart Bomb, Podgorny was head of community for Mind Candy, the British developed behind another free-to-play, kid-targeted virtual world, Moshi Monsters. That browser-based MMO ended up attracting more than 10 million registered users since launching in April 2008, and those children played more than 120 million educational puzzles.

Smart Bomb Interactive has mostly focused on home console titles since it was founded in 2003. Its past releases include licensed games based on Snoopy, Pac-Man, and Bee Movie. It's also currently working on Snoopy WWI Flying Ace for Xbox 360 and Wii.

"This team and this project are a perfect fit for me," said Podgorny. "Kids who love animals are going to be immersed in a fascinating virtual world of unprecedented depth, and they’ll be part of an online community that parents can feel good about letting their children explore."