See: http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2007/12/interview-taatu.html for an interview with Taatu's CEO on cultural vs geographical expansion i.e.; working with cultural instead of geographical boundaries. "We recognize that language is the last social barrier especially between 10- and 19-year-olds, so we are very keen on offering other ways to communicate... From day one, TAATU has been a multi-lingual environment. We deploy our communities not based on geography, but on language. We have a French and Belgian community and now an English community. We expect soon to open Spanish and German communities. Now our demographic is mainly based in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands."
Moitroux describes TAATU as a fit between Habbo Hotel and Second Life. 70% of its users are between 10 and 19 years old with another 20% falling between 20 and 35, according to Moitroux. Almost no one is over 35. With approximately half a million registered users and a 24/7 monitored community, TAATU works with advertising integration to bring content to young users.
"Of course we're targeting the customers who have an interest in the audience we have," said Moitroux. "So the typical advertisers are coming in from the gaming enviornment or cosmetics or drinks and food, but also mobile telephones and banks—all those people who want to address a market of 10-19 reaching them in a very new way."
So far, he says, there's been a fair amount of interest from the UK and US. TAATU is a Flash-based environment that doesn't require a download. While that's traditionalyl been a positive factor for youth-oriented worlds, the US has seen a boom in client-download youth worlds like vSide. Likewise, last week saw the transition of Coca Cola from working in an online-only environment originally built by Habbo Hotel to working in the client-based program There.com. But Moitroux isn't worried about the transition. "We've been talking to advertisers who appreciate our look and feel and the content that we can give them as far as security is concerned," he said. "Instead of waiting to push by any means this 3D environment, our advertisers are more sensible to the amount of people who can view or play with the product. Our lighter graphics enable us to accommodate more people into our rooms. That's definitely one thing our members appreciate. I believe there will be a market for those worlds. But it depends what you're looking for. We definitely want to continue to be a product for the masses."
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