AOL launches dedicated UK casual games portal

Modeled on its US-facing games.com site, the 250 titles offered meant that AOL has the "best free selection of downloadable games content in Europe" claimed AOL Europe CEO Dana Dunne.

According to AOL, the move "will broaden the site's advertising capabilities and demographic reach by creating a new look, easier navigation and a more diverse library of games" and replicate its games.com success overseas.

Over 250 free titles are available at www.games.aol.co.uk - and the site also includes a number of user-powered community features such as user-generated game reviews, tips, ratings and chat functions.

“By offering next generation online games and continuing to partner with all the leading game publishers, www.games.aol.co.uk will be able to offer the best free selection of online and downloadable game content in Europe,” said Dunne.

“The new community features will provide a destination where people can experience the games they love while connecting with players from around the world.”

Key to the push is AOL's offering multiple advertising opportunities to its brand partners, with in-game advertising offered in its Bingo, Poker and Solitaire games. Pre-play and elements like re-skinned playing cards boasting brand logos "will also provide advertisers with a variety of methods to target an engaged audience," the firm said.

“The newly re-launched AOL Games is the ideal portal for advertisers to target an engaged audience,” said Jonathan Lister, SVP of operations for AOL Europe. “The site offers games of a very high quality – on many other sites you would have to pay a subscription fee to access content of this calibre.”