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Millions of teens around the globe are already well-acquainted with Habbo, the popular virtual world aimed at those aged 13 to 18. Now Sulake, the Finnish creator of the site, has launched Bobba, a counterpart designed for mobile phone users 16 and older. Launched into beta last month, Bobba bills itself as a “pocketsize virtual world” that’s designed for use on mobile phones. Much as with Habbo, users can create avatars, build and decorate their own virtual surroundings on the site, and meet and interact with other users. More than 11,000 accounts have already been created; supported phones include a variety of models from Nokia, LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Lenovo; support for iPhones and the iPod Touch is coming soon. Of course, besides enabling virtual product sales within the site, communities like Habbo and Bobba also provide a nicely targeted way for other businesses to meet and interact with particular segments of consumers—much the way Dutch Postbank did when it set up a presence on Habbo. After all, in today’s socially networked world, the effectiveness of advertising is limited at best. Instead, companies must reach out to consumers where they naturally spend their time—and for legions of mobile users 16 and over, that just might turn out to be Bobba. One to watch! Spotted by: John Greene