CASUAL CONNECT: King.com crowns growth boom

British-born skill games portal King.com has announced that 190m games were played on its site in January 2008 - a 138 per cent increase from the same period last year.

The sites rapid growth was driven by the introduction of games and a new back-end architecture, said the firm. King.com also forged a number of relationships with portals and media firms in 2007, launching its Deal or No Deal game and signing partnerships with the likes of Yahoo and MTV.

"King.com continues to move from strength to strength," said Toby Rowland, co-founder and co-CEO of King.com. "People who like to compete at casual games are finding King.com and staying there."