Koch Media, the company behind London Racer 2, has signed up for Virgin Games' and Games Domain International's (GDI) upcoming 'virtual world' platform. The platform, set for launch later this year, has been dubbed A World of My Own (AWOMO).

Several other major games publishers are allegedly involved, but haven't been named as yet.

It is claimed that AWOMO will allow faster downloads of games, enabling play within minutes rather than hours. It will also feature greater security than is currently available for downloadable games, reducing the risk of piracy for publishers.

The platform was first announced last June, with launch planned for March. Currently the site can be visited but there is little to be seen in terms of content. Nor is there any mention of Virgin. As such a March launch seems unlikely, but things seem to be heating up with Richard Branson weighing in:



SPOnG's a little bit dubious about this (we tend to be when it comes to things that 'revolutionise'). Also 'iTunes for games' has the faint whiff of a tasty sound bite. But you can't fault them for effort.

Is Virgin's return to 'proper' games good news? Do you miss the days of Dune 2: Battle for Arrakis Let us know in the Forum.

^{Source: MCV}