ST. LOUIS, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Pet lovers who enjoy the thrill of building and managing fun places on online games will have an opportunity to test their skill on the new "Purina® Pet Resort" game.

Nestle Purina PetCare Company, one of the world's leading pet food manufacturers, is now publishing its new "Purina® Pet Resort" simulation game on Facebook. Players can become the manager of their own virtual pet-themed resort, allowing them to build and operate a fun place to pamper, care for and entertain virtual pets.

The game is Purina's latest effort toward providing online and mobile entertainment and information for pet owners.

"Pet lovers spend a lot of time online and using mobile devices for fun and to enhance the relationship with their pets," said Guy Fish, assistant brand manager, Purina® brand. "Purina® Pet Resort caters to pet lovers who enjoy online games and would like to create a virtual haven for their four-legged friends."

"Resort" owners can purchase a variety of pet-themed stations where virtual pets can be groomed or fed with Purina® brand pet foods and treats such as Purina® Dog Chow® brand Dog Food, Fancy Feast® and Beggin' Strips®. The game focuses on the stations and the resort owners' ability to move up levels by taking care of more pets.

Merscom, a global publisher of Facebook and casual computer games, developed and published "Purina® Pet Resort." Merscom is owned by Playdom, Inc., which is involved in marketing the new game.

Purina recently introduced an enhanced version of its "petcentric" mobile application that is now available for iPhone®, iPad®, iPod Touch® and BlackBerry® users. "petcentric" provides pet owners an engaging mobile experience through location-based utility, entertaining content featuring videos and photos, and relevant pet information.

The new "petcentric" features offer a gallery of top pet news stories and videos every day, and new ways to search for professional pet sitters and pet-friendly places using GPS technology. In addition, pet lovers can rate and comment on pet-friendly locations and add their own favorite places.

Purina also offers a glimpse into the world from a pet's point of view at www.petcentric.com.

About Nestle Purina PetCare Company

The North American headquarters for Nestle Purina PetCare is located at Checkerboard Square in St. Louis, Missouri, where it was founded as Ralston Purina Company more than a century ago. Nestle Purina PetCare promotes responsible pet care, humane education, community involvement and the positive bond between people and their pets. One of the leading global players in the pet food industry, Nestle Purina PetCare is part of the Swiss-based Nestle S.A., the world's largest food company. Visit www.purina.com.

About Merscom

Merscom is a global publisher of Facebook and casual computer games that distributes games through multiple channels, multiple platforms and multiple revenue models. Merscom's channels include Facebook, online sale through major portals worldwide, retailers throughout the US and Europe and games on Microsoft® Xbox Live® Arcade. Merscom produces entertaining products for gamers of all ages and guarantees all customers a great experience. For more information, visit www.merscom.com.

About Playdom

Playdom is committed to bringing people everywhere together through the world's best social games. Playdom is a top game developer on Facebook and MySpace with popular titles including Social City, Sorority Life, Mobsters, and Tiki Resort. To date, over 130 million Playdom games have been installed on leading platforms including Facebook, MySpace, iPhone and Hi5. Playdom is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., with studios in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; Eugene, Ore.; Boulder, Colo.; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Buenos Aires, Argentina and in South Asia. For more information about Playdom, please visit www.playdom.com.

SOURCE Nestle Purina PetCare Company