X-Tra! X-Tra! X-Life Games Newsletter

To read the full newsletter, please visit:
http://www.xlifegames.com/emails/XTRAXTRA/1109/index.html

Announcing the winners of the X-Life Games "Who Am I?" Poetry Contest

The X-Life Games team is pleased to announce the winners of the "Who Am I?" Poetry Contest! The poetry contest encouraged participants to be creative and express themselves by writing a poem answering the question "Who Am I?" while sharing ideas of tolerance and respect for all cultures and societies. We had over 300 participants from over 30 different countries representing many different cultures. The judging period resulted in 27 finalists whose poems were selected for the public voting period.

And the winners are...

* * *

1^st Place Grand Prize Winner
Name: Salma Amgad, Age: 20, Country: Egypt

Poem Title: Who is She?

Winner of an Apple iTouch and $1,000 USD donated on her behalf to a charity of her choice.

Salma has chosen Livestrong - The Lance Armstrong Foundation to receive the donation of $1,000 USD in her honor.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation inspires and empowers people affected by cancer. They believe that unity is strength, knowledge is power and attitude is everything.

* * *
2^nd Place Winner
Name: Shereen Sartawi, Age: 22, Country: Jordan

Poem Title: I'm a Poetess

Winner of an Apple iPod Nano and $500 USD donated on her behalf to a charity of her choice.

Shereen has chosen The Breast Cancer Research Foundation to receive the donation of $500 USD in her honor.

The mission of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® is to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime by providing critical funding for innovative clinical and translational research at leading medical centers worldwide, and increasing public awareness.

* * *
3^rd Place Winner

Name: Vincentius Panduwijaya, Age: 22, Country: Indonesia
Poem Title: Letter for Mother of Earth

Winner of an an Apple iPod Shuffle and $250 USD donated on his behalf to a charity of his choice.

Vincentius has chosen the Save the Children Organization to receive the donation of $250 USD in his honor.

Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change in the lives of children in need around the world.

* * *
4^th Place Winner / *Honorable Mention

Name: Sarah Akl, Age: 20, Country: Egypt
Poem Title: I am the change
Winner of an an Apple iPod Shuffle.

* * *

To read all of the winning poems, please visit: http://blog.metrostarsystems.com/global-citizenship/x-life-games-who-am-i-poetry-contest/winning-poems/

Judges

X-Life Games sends a special thank you to our VIP Judges who helped decide the finalists.

• Dr. Craig Zelizer (of The Peace and Collaborative Development Network & Georgetown University)

• Dr. J. P. Singh (Georgetown University)

• Katherine Townsend (Office of the Senior Advisor for Innovation, Department of State)

• Ali Reza Manouchehri (CEO, MetroStar Systems)

X-Life Games surpasses 2,000 registered gamers!

X-Life Games is pleased to announce that we have now surpassed 2,000 registered gamers from all around the world! Our registered gamers represent 99 different countries and many more different cultures.

Here’s a list of the Top 5 countries and gamers representing X-Life Games:

1. Egypt 438


2. Indonesia 323


3. USA 214


4. Lebanon 131


5. Jordan 110

We are thrilled about the support from all of our fans from around the world after just 6 months. X-Life Games launched in March 2009 as a pilot project for the U.S. Department of State. It is a free mobile phone game designed and developed by MetroStar Systems' New Media Technology team and X-Life Games LLC. The game features role-playing, trivia challenges, and adventures around the world. Our mission is to encourage understanding between different cultures in a fun and engaging way. Visit http://www.xlifegames.com for more info and to download the free mobile games.

You can also keep in touch with the X-Life Games community through our Facebook Fanpage (http://www.facebook.com/xlifegames.community) and follow us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/xlifegames).

The "Who Am I?" Poetry Contest

The "Who Am I?" Poetry Contest has started! You could win an Apple iTouch and $1,000.00 donated to the charity of your choice!

The Who Am I? Poetry Contest allows you to use poetry to describe yourself on a global level and share ideas of tolerance and respect for other cultures, societies, and environments around the world. Simply compose a poem and submit it to our Facebook fan page! After our VIP Judging Panel selects the finalists, we are letting the FANS vote for the winners!

For complete info & to enter visit:

http://www.facebook.com/xlifegames.community

We will be accepting poetry submissions until Sunday October 4 so get started on writing your poem now!

"Who Am I?" Poetry Contest

X-Life Games presents the "Who Am I?" Poetry Contest

The "Who Am I?" Poetry Contest is launching soon! You could win an Apple iTouch and $1,000.00 donated to the charity of your choice!

The Who Am I? Poetry Contest allows you to use poetry to describe yourself on a global level and share ideas of tolerance and respect for other cultures, societies, and environments around the world. Simply compose a poem and submit it to our Facebook fan page! After our VIP Judging Panel selects the finalists, were letting the FANS vote for the winners!

More details will be announced on Monday, September 14th.

In the meantime, you could get started on writing your poem. Tip: The poem must be 500 characters (not words) or less. Good luck!

What Would You Do With An Extra Life? X-Life Games promo video

The X-Life Games team went out to Washington D.C. to ask “What would you do with an X-tra Life?” People had some pretty creative and interesting answers!

Become part of the X-Life Games Community and leave a comment or your thoughts on our Facebook fan page. Become a fan! http://www.facebook.com/xlifegames.community

You can also follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/xlifegames

Thanks!

X-Life Games sweepstakes contest

Enter the X-Life Games sweepstakes contest!

To enter, just visit our fan page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/xlifegames.community

The prize is a free iPod Shuffle. Enter the contest and become a Fan of X-Life Games Fan page for a chance to win.

And please invite all of your friends too :)

Thanks,
Daniel

X-Life Games surpasses 1,000 registered gamers!

MetroStar Systems is pleased to announce that our X-Life Games project has surpassed 1,000 registered gamers from over 85 different countries around the world!

X-Life Games launched in March 2009 as a pilot project for the U.S. Department of State. It is a free mobile phone game designed and developed by MetroStar Systems' New Media Technology team and X-Life Games LLC. The game features role-playing, trivia challenges, and adventures around the world. Our mission is to encourage understanding between different cultures and to provide an English language learning tool. I know that sounds pretty deep for a mobile phone game, but we think it is a positive and fun way to engage with the youth around the world; plus it is FREE for anyone who wants to play.

Micah L. Sifry and Andrew Rasiej (both from the Personal Democracy Forum) wrote an article for Politico.com entitled "P2P2G: The rise of e-diplomacy" that features a blurb about X-Life Games as one example of the State Department's diplomacy initiatives associated with Secretary of State Clinton's "21st Century Statecraft" theme:

Total views of State Department content on YouTube are up more than 400 percent since Obama’s Inauguration. ExchangesConnect, a cultural exchange social networking site (built on the free Ning.com platform) that focuses on foreign exchange students, recently registered its 10,000th member. And State has even launched an English-language learning game called X-Life, for cell phone users, designed to give users a sense of American life and culture.

In other news, the Wall Street Journal's Technology section recently published a special "All Things Digital" section. William M. Bulkeley offered a quiz entitled "How Well Do You Know...The Wireless World" and X-Life Games was highlighted in Question #10:

10) The U.S. State Department spent $415,000 to develop a mobile game called X-Life to improve perceptions of the U.S. in what country or region?

A. Venezuela B. The Middle East C. Russia D. France

ANSWER: B. MetroStar Systems Inc., a Reston, Va., company, created X-Life as a State Department pilot project to see whether e-diplomacy might spread cross-cultural understanding. The game has two role-playing choices: In one, the user’s avatar is a student studying abroad in the U.S.; in the other, the avatar is a musician in a rock band. (Grammy-winning band Ozomatli contributed a song for the game.)

Do you know the wireless world well? You can read the complete quiz here: Wall Street Journal Quiz

For complete info, news, and free game downloads, please visit http://www.xlifegames.com

ABC News features X-Life Games and MetroStar Systems' CEO

ABC NEWS interviewed MetroStar Systems' CEO, Ali Manouchehri, about X-Life Games last week. It is great that ABC News is interested in Diplomacy 2.0 and giving X-Life Games some quality airtime! You can view the video here:


http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7293394


Get info and download the game for free at http://www.xlifegames.com


#xlifegames

:)

Diplomacy 2.0 with Cellphone Games

X-Life Games featured on The Wall Street Journal!

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/03/13/diplomacy-20-with-cellphone-games/

X-Life Games featured on CNN

X-Life Games has been featured on CNN.com! Although it's not the most glowing article about the game, we are happy to have the additional exposure :)

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/06/xlife.game/index.html

Launch of X-Life Games Heralds New Era for U.S. Diplomacy

Mobile Gaming Technology Pioneers e-Diplomacy Outreach to the Middle East and Persian Gulf

RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetroStar Systems, Inc., a leader in New Media technology solutions for the federal government, announced today the much anticipated release of X-Life Games and its availability for free download on www.xlifegames.com. Developed by MetroStar Systems, X-Life Games is an English language mobile game that encourages cultural exchanges between Arabic, Persian, and English speaking cultures, demystifies American culture, and breaks down barriers that impede mutual understanding. Leveraging the latest in mobile technology, X-Life users in the Middle East and Gulf region will be introduced to American culture in a non-threatening and constructive manner.

“X-Life, the game, is a series of interrelated adventure modules which explore one idea - what unites us, rather than what divides us,” said Ali Reza Manouchehri, Chief Executive Officer of MetroStar Systems, Inc. “Middle East and the Persian Gulf youth will have the opportunity to experience the dynamism and vitality of American life. X-Life projects the fundamental values that Americans cherish: tolerance, freedom, and respect for cultural and religious differences.”

Prompting users to learn and use skills acquired through everyday experiences, each phase of the game allows the user to apply those skills to improve themselves and the world, all in a mobile application. This concept of cultural bridging embodied in a video game reaches across all generations, especially the current one being raised in an ever sophisticated and technological world.

“X-Life Games is the embodiment of ‘e-Diplomacy’, and reflects the new ‘soft diplomacy’ approach favored by the Obama Administration,” said Manouchehri. “The path-breaking mobile application pioneers e-Diplomacy by utilizing an emerging new media platform to engage the minds and hearts of overseas audiences.”

X-Life Games LLC was created in June of 2008 by MetroStar Systems, Inc. by key gaming industry veterans Neal Hallford, James Dzierwa, J.R. Register, and Ghafur Remtulla. The first titles from X-Life Games were funded by the U.S. Department of State as an initiative for e-Diplomacy.

X-Life Games was created for the public to use free of charge in an effort to bridge cultures. X-Life Games is not a single mobile game but a series of smaller, interrelated adventure modules that explore one theme. The players of this unique game will be able to select an avatar, earn and spend the game’s virtual currency, and progress through their X-Life while learning English through mobile handsets. Reflections can be made of the user’s life path, including how they would have handled careers, family, and other phases of life. In each game, the player gets to “try on” a new X-Life and rise to the top of that game’s featured profession. X-Life Games is available now via download at www.xlifegames.com.

About MetroStar Systems, Inc.

Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, MetroStar Systems, Inc.™ is a Small Business Administration-certified 8(a) firm that provides its clients with agile, collaborative solutions designed to integrate people, processes, technology, and learning across an organization and its geographic boundaries. MetroStar System’s core competencies are distributed through seven major service groups: 1) Portal Strategy and Integration, 2) Enterprise Infrastructure Support, 3) Business Intelligence, 4) New Media Technology, 5) Health, Finance and Insurance, 6) Training & Education, and 7) Custom Development. Information about MetroStar Systems and its products can be found on the company's website, www.MetroStarSystems.com

Blogger Blogs about X-Life Games and the State Department

Check out this blog about X-Life Games, the State Department, and "why they get it."

http://www.ipdi.org/blog/index.php/2009/02/20/why-the-state-department-gets-it/

"Bridging Cultures One Pixel at a Time"

X-Life Games

New X-Life Games module available now!

The second game module for X-Life Games is available for download now. It's called "Babanger Blues":

X-Life: Babangar Blues

Storyline: Before he went off to International University, Salah Moaveni was poised to get everything a teen-aged boy could ever want. As the multi-talented lead guitarist for an underground rock band called Babangar, he and his band mates had already established a reputation at home for being one of the best-sounding, hardest rocking, under-eighteen acts anywhere in the Middle East. They had semi-regular gigs, adoring crowds, even the possibility of a recording contract. Everything seemed on the verge of going Babangar’s way...just before it all went horribly wrong.

Objective: As you complete Music and Trivia Challenges, you’ll be awarded Education Points. These points accumulate against your character’s Level. For each level that your character attains, they will be rewarded additional Upgrade Points which can be used to upgrade their car. You will also gain X-Dollars which can be used to upgrade your avatar on http://www.xlifegames.com

For more information and a FREE download, please check:

http://www.xlifegames.com

"Immigrants’ Entrepreneurial Spirit Helps U.S. Economy"

Below is a link to an article about the CEO of MetroStar Systems, Inc.


http://www.america.gov/st/econ-english/2009/January/20090121162300berehellek0.5543177.html

X-Life Games officially Launched!

It's been a long time coming, and X-Life Games is finally launched and released!

X-Life Games is a FREE game for your mobile phone. It features adventure, trivia challenges, and cultural / language learning elements.

Within the game, avatar-based characters discover adventures that will take them around the world. Read inscriptions on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia to solve a mystery, build a race car, or take your rock band to Dubai and become global superstars.

The goal behind X-Life the Game is to help gamers learn English as well as facts about U.S. history, society, and culture during their discussions with the other characters in multiple cities and dozens of different surroundings.

You can now download it for free at www.xlifegames.com

More updates soon to follow...