Mind Candy, developer of the popular children's online game, Moshi Monsters, today announced its first major licensing deal with Penguin Group to publish a series of books based on the Moshi Monsters property. The online game allows children around the world to adopt their own free pet monster, play games, customise their homes, explore the virtual world and solve educational puzzles. More than 20 million players have registered to-date at http://www.moshimonsters.com , making it one of the world fastest growing children's games.

The first book to be published during the deal will explore one of the most popular elements of the game - Moshlings. These cute, colourful and collectible little creatures are pets of the Moshi Monsters and the book will delve into their back-story, habitats, quirks and provide other valuable information for dedicated Moshling hunters. The book will also contain a unique code to unlock a secret Moshling at the Moshi Monsters website. Two books are planned for release in 2010 globally and a further five to follow in 2011.

"Moshi Monsters grew ten-fold last year and we feel now is the right time to begin expanding the property offline," said Michael Acton Smith, CEO of Mind Candy. "Books will be one of the key categories for the brand and we felt Penguin would be the perfect partner to help us expand the property."

"The licensing landscape has changed in the last year or so with some of the most compelling story content for kids coming from virtual worlds, and the Penguin Group is honoured to add Moshi Monsters to its programme of successful virtual world tie-ins, said Eric Huang, Category Publisher, Brands and Licensing, Penguin Group. "All the books will contain links to exclusive content and act in tandem with the site to expand the digital world with a physical component to make Moshi Monsters even more fun."

In Moshi Monsters, players navigate the immersive online world by solving puzzles that test a variety of skills including basic math, spatial awareness, logic and vocabulary. As players solve puzzles, they earn Rox, the in-game currency that can be used to purchase food, furniture and seeds to attract Moshlings for their monsters.