Sveiks Peteri

Given that I was in college during the Nixon era, it’s hard for me to imagine that I would ever announce that the US ‘never lies’. However, I didn’t think that Colin Powell would knowingly lie, and there I was wrong.

In 2003 I wrote an article for DIENA where I stated I was against war as method for resolving problems and hoped that the US, UN and NATO would find a way to oust Hussein without going to war. However, if our allies found themselves in a war, we had to weigh all the arguments and decide whether we were going to help our allies or not. Yes, Latvia was among the coalition countries that later discovered that these arguments were not as sound as we first believed. If you look closely at Latvian government documents at the time, nowhere does Latvia endorse war. But we expressed a readiness to help our allies (9 NATO members) if they go to war. As I recall my only TV comments on this subject were on the Domburs show, where I defended the position taken by the Latvian president, Foreign Ministry and Saeima. At no time did I advocate war or invasion. I advocated support for our allies (who were supporting our membership in NATO). Even our allies were split. The US and UK took one position, France and Germany took another. Given the historical track record of these four countries vis a vis Latvia, the US and UK seemed like a better bet. We were not wrong in supporting our friends and allies. We were wrong in believing they had the best solution to the problem.

Have you seen the film ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’? It’s a fascinating study of the complex moral dilemmas that superpowers like the US face. The US armed the Afghans to help them defeat the Soviets, which was one of the factors which led to the breakup of the USSR and Latvia’s independence. No doubt many Latvians died on the Soviet side thanks to the US-Arab-Israeli-Turkish arms supply to the Afghans. Was Charlie Wilson’s war justified? Here again (as the end of the film points out) the US is good at waging war, but not very good at resolving problems. Today, NATO is fighting many of the same people that the US provided arms to in the 1980’s. Life is full of paradoxes and contradictions, and we are forced to take decisions between the lesser of many evils. Both you and I believe in promoting the long-term interests of Latvia. We just differ on how that is best achieved. That’s politics and that will never end. My defense of the Latvian government in 2003 was neither ferocious nor vehement, but it was firm. I still stand by that, even though the solution we hoped for did not materialize.

LatviansOnline.com Monopoly forum member’s courtesy, civility and camaraderie set an international example
others can only envy.

While all the members of this forum have been selflessly pulling together as one team, rallying around Riga,
other cities have not been so fortunate. Their results reflect this entropy.

Queenstown’s World Monopoly bid slipping

Queenstown’s bid to secure a place on the upcoming “World Edition” Monopoly game board is looking shaky, with the town slipping out of the Top 20 with just a week of voting to go.

The popular South Island resort town had previously been as high as 12th on the leaderboard, in the online global vote being run by games company Hasbro.

Queenstown tourism bosses are keen to secure a spot on the new game board, with Hasbro estimating over 100 million people will play the new Monopoly World Edition in the next five years.

Your country needs you: Historic rivalry reignited as France tries to sabotage our Monopoly board bid

It is a rivalry that goes back centuries but now France could put an end to England’s hopes of making it onto a global Monopoly board. The situation is so serious that Culture Minister Tessa Jowell and London Mayor Ken Livingstone have stepped in to ensure the capital makes the cut and represents the nation.

London is currently trailing behind most of the competition and may fall off the board completely if a scurrilous French campaign is successful.

… London is ranked eighth with just 2.9 per cent of the vote - behind cities including Riga in Latvia and Belgrade in Serbia.

The Fight for Ukrainian Recognition on Monopoly Game Board

Although perhaps a minuscule issue at hand, the idea of having Ukraine on Monopoly’s 75th Anniversary Game Board, honoring the most prominent of Cities all around the world is quite an important one. I know that the Diaspora has been voting endlessly, and have come up quite overwhelmed, as countries have published of this vote in newspapers.

The idea of having Ukraine up on such a game board full of great cities, is a very important one:
it would show Ukraine’s overall importance in the development of world history. We have been trying to raise awareness of this event, and frankly the Diaspora is not enough to do the Job.

Capetown at #3 must have studied teamwork in Riga:

Cape Town to monopolise its beauty

Cape Town is seeing green as it has moved into the second-highest tier of spaces in an on-line vote to determine the composition of a new Monopoly game board.

Within the green tier, the Mother City passed Riga, Latvia, to claim the number three spot on Monday in the race to be represented in a Monopoly version that substitutes world cities for the traditional version’s street names.

Hasbro Gets It Right With World Monopoly Edition Online Marketing Effort - Vote For Your City

From The Client Side

“Ideas, thoughts and stories from the frontlines of marketing. Dedicated to brand and customer champions worldwide who are making a difference from the client side.”

Here are a bunch of reasons I think it this works well for Hasbro:

- People love Monopoly - it is an imprint of my youth. This effort successfully extends the brand into the online world by involving players, fans and city proud people across the globe. Everyone has a “move” in this exercise.

- This story has tremendous pass-along value.

- They were smart in terms of collecting voter email address in an very efficient manner. This is a move to limit ballot box stuffing and likely to pull voters back into the site with updates. I wonder if they have plans to use the email down the road after this exercise? There is so much potential in terms of extending the relationship with the collected data.

- The end product is, to a certain degree, user-generated. It fits snuggly into today’s online model.

Riga’s friend in cyberspace, Dr. Mani marshalls the forces of the Internet Marketing Community and sends them into battle.

“Dr. Mani, Have you ever rescued an ENTIRE COUNTRY?”

He also generously offers Three Free gifts - click here.

Thanks Jan, for bringing this thread back to the present task at hand. Still three days left to vote for Riga!

2 more days… Sarauj, Latvija!~

I advocated support for our allies (who were supporting our membership in NATO). Even our allies were split. The US and UK took one position, France and Germany took another. Given the historical track record of these four countries vis a vis Latvia, the US and UK seemed like a better bet.

I won’t argue with the above three sentences, Ojār (though I would underscore the NATO part—in fact, I would say that wanting/needing to get into NATO was 99% of the reason for backing the war). I think saying you did not support the invasion or the war, only our allies, is an incrediobly weaselly cop-out. I also think that the fact that about 70-80% of the population was against the war ought to have mattered, and that the fact that our supposed leaders, i.e. our political elite, incessantly foist such things upon us is part of the reason most everybody is revolted by said political elite.

I do recall what you said on the Domburšovs, and you had to be corrected by Dr. Ziemele because you were dissembling even then. Maybe you should join the Billary team—one can’t be neither for nor against the war and join the Coalition of the Willing at the same time, and do so at the front of the line, sorry. What Ziemele argued made the most sense, back then and again now. And again, we are at the forefront of supporting something almost no one here knows anything about, and few care about—I mean Kosovo’s statehood. Then we will cry like babies when other countries sign up to solve something equally inexplicable here. Cry like reņģēdāji.

What it boils down to is that we have no foreign policy. This then adds ammunition to the arguments of the worst of our critics—we’ll like American boots one day, Russian boots the next. It would have been a lot easier if the principles many of us actually have had been taken into account. I said it to you long ago and I’ll say it again—we don’t have the balls or the muscles to play at Realpolitik. A moral foreign policy and international law are vital to our survival.

It’s little wonder that people have little trust in our government. It’s actually quite likumsakarīgi.

Vysu lobu,
/P

Just as civilizations, nations and neighborhoods have winners and losers,
so does the Game of Monopoly.

Montrealers rally for Boardwalk on Monopoly board

MONTREAL - The world order threatens to be redefined this week with Montreal poised to capture bitterly contested territory thanks to an online poll of board game fans.

…The mayor of Quebec City even pitched in with a commercial calling on denizens to set aside their historic enmity for Montreal and cast a vote for the city. For Hudon, the campaign for a spot on the Monopoly board is clearly more than just a game.

“In recent years, 200 million people have played Monopoly,” she said. “That’s enormous. We couldn’t afford an advertising campaign that would have that kind of scope.”

”I think pride for the city is what is making people vote,” said Vautour.

Hudon suggested success in the campaign sends an important message to Montrealers.

”When we have the attitude of a winner, and the desire to win, we will get there,” she said.

Apparently not everyone in Montreal is taking Mayor Hudon’s advice:

Voter pour Montreal (MONOPOLY)

IntegraTypeR411 (who “Lives at the track”) opines: “wow wtf, Montreal, cape town and Riga (where the **** is that) are top 4 lol..”

Spiter_01 laments: “****ing latvia thats just stupid. I’m not buying a monopoly game with ****ing latvia on it.”

In Kyiv, a better attitude flourishes, even among orphans:

UkraineOrphans Blog

”If everyone were kind our world would become a very pleasant place to live.”

If you are a friend of Ukraine consider a vote for Kyiv! The Ukrainians in Diaspora and their friends will control Kyiv’s position…

Riga, Latvia, has made a remarkable assault. Little Latvia, a proud country of about two and a quarter million people, 30% of which are described as Russian. Last week Riga was not to be seen near the top twenty. Today it is number four. Latvians are dedicated.

Toronto came close. Their disappointment is echoed at:

Is it world class: Vote tonight for Toronto’s own Monopoly spot

Hasbro has already pre-selected 68 “great cities” for voters to choose from: they include obvious picks like Paris and London alongside more obscure choices like Cardiff, Riga and Ljublijana.

I’m really disappointed in lack of interest among Torontonians in promoting this way their city. Montreal is just second and overpassed NYC! Vancouver’s nomination is discussed widely on local forums - and Toronto...?

What is going on? Toronto is huge and could be a leader, just voted by dwellers, but it’s potential is even greater - all relatives of immigrants could support Toronto all over the world!!

VOTE - it is now quite a shame that Toronto will NOT get into Monopoly new game…

Dubai trouble?

Residents urged to give Dubai a slot on Monopoly

“Dubai proudly boasts one of the highest standards of living. Locals, expatriates and foreign visitors, can all enjoy a relaxed and pleasant lifestyle. A city that prides itself on a low crime rate, clean streets...”

Apparently that is not enough for some of its residents.

Get a Life!

“I bet Hasbro can’t believe the free advertising they are getting from papers like The Gulf News. Do 2000 people really care if Dubai gets to be a square on an online board game? Frightening. Get a life.”

Graham (Dubai,UAE)

“Mr. Graham, it was surprising to read your comments regarding this article. I believe you have just been in town for only a couple of years and hence lack the patriotism. Most of us have been living our entire life over here and every achievement Dubai gets, fills our hearts with joy! Even if its a square on an online board game. So, I believe you should be the one to go get a life and learn about being loyal to the country that feeds you.”

Mohammad (Dubai,UAE)

I would suggest not making fun of that last gentleman in any cartoons.

A “notronwest” analyses the marketing:

Poor marketing, by design or a realistic view into the truth - Sweet!

…Some other notables posting higher vote percentages than any US City - Latvia, South Africa, Serbia, and Turkey (holy crap!).

So my question is this:

1) Is this a hugest marketing blunder in US History (again no commercials, no web ads, no articles or TV appearances)

2) Is this a calculated marketing push to push the Monopoly game into the hands of foreign buyers at a time when the US market is at a record low

3) Or - is this just a hint of the power of the Internet and Viral Marketing at its best.  I didn’t even now that they sold Monopoly in Latvia.  I would guess maybe South Africa but Latvia ?? (kind of cool if you think about it).

Princess Vija, Future teacher, destined to touch young hearts and minds, offers directions:

Please help Riga Latvia get on the new Monopoly game!

Monopoly is coming out with a new world cities game and you can vote for your favorite city. Please add a vote for Riga, Latvia. If you find Moscow, go west of Moscow and there you will find Riga. PLEASE help, you can vote daily!!!!

Viva Latvia!

After 807 years, Riga is finally on the Monopoly Board.

What do we do next?

Why not clear up some prejudices, misconceptions and lies?

Is there a “Parallel Universe Riga” – where everybody is rude, dishonest and obnoxious?

The Riga I know is quite different.

From: Riga Holiday Reviews

Riga holiday reviews, Latvia travel reviews and truth reports written by holiday makers and travellers like you!

“Not only is Riga, capital of Latvia on the Baltic Sea, charming to behold, it is also a great party city with a wild nightlife that has earned it a reputation as a perfect weekend break destination for European clubbers and pubbers. There is a serious side to Riga too, which goes beyond its picturesque, fairy-tale architecture: 800 years of history are captured in museums and galleries.”

Does Riga have an Evil Twin City in an Ugly Parallel Universe?

Please let me know where it is, so I can help join the cleanup.

Spoiled by the sheer rudeness and bad manners of the locals - Raymond. Date of travel: Feb 2008

I was unpleasantly surprised by the rudeness of the locals in Latvia. They were extremely unfriendly to the point of hostility. There is no finesse to their character - they are brutal, with no manners. They are happy to fleece you of your money though, and prices are not much cheaper than the UK for many things. Ruined my trip. I don’t think they realise that there are prettier and cheaper places to visit, with much nicer people, so I would not recommend visiting Riga on any level. The old town is actually not that pretty either, it’s pock-marked with soviet era monstrosities.

The tour guides also don’t say that the pollution levels are very high… DO NOT GO!

I didn’t love Latvia - Jimmy. Date of travel: Oct 2007

Riga is a truly beautiful city with a wealth of architecture and history. Unfortunately the reality is the Latvians don’t want the British tourist there. I’m middle aged and travelled with my wife, we’re both respectable and respect other peoples cultures but have never met a more miserable, ignorant race of people anywhere in the world and believe me, we have travelled. If you are part of a stag or hen party stay away because the police (uniformed thugs) take great delight in beating you up and demanding money. If you venture down by the railway station beware of muggers and pickpockets too, though you can experience this in any major city. One thing that will stay in my memory for ever is the number of very old people begging on the streets, the government has obviously forgotten the years of struggle these people have had or simply don’t care.

Would I go to Latvia again? NO! absolutely not.

Latvians really, really, really hate British people - shoogg. Date of travel: Aug 2007

Never met people as unwelcoming as the Latvians. Be prepared to be treated like dog dirt everywhere you go.

Rambo with a Russian lisp - Big Gun Dave. Date of travel: Jul 2007

No visit to Riga is complete without a tour of the big gun shooting, a cocktail of guns in an ex-nuclear bunker in Riga. You can fire Uzis, AK47s, pump action guns, and a Glock 17 - Dirty Harry style! ...Riga itself is, of course, totally excellent and ever so slightly bonkers.

Riga with a smile - BalticExpert. Date of travel: Jul 2007

There have been a few negative comments on this site about Latvia and Latvians. Of course there are some moody, ignorant people but if you come here with the attitude that this is what you will find you are bound to end up with a bad experience. If you want to make the most of Riga and Latvia then I suggest you team up with Out-There.eu That way you will only experience the happy, friendly side of the city, which, after all, is the main reason to visit a new country or city in the first place.

Check out: http://www.out-there.eu

Riga - Joe Gallacher. Date of travel: May 2007

I found Riga to be a nice location for a break away. It is unfortunate, however, that there are so many horrible people in the city. I have never felt so unsafe in my life (I am 6ft 2 and 16 stone) due to so many people attempting to rob or beat us up. My friend was held up with a group brandishing a gun, another was held up with a knife, another severly beaten up and to top it all off three of us had our credit cards cloned.

We found the people of Riga to be extremely unfriendly…

Dump and full of very very rude people - Simon. Date of travel: Dec 2006

Hated Riga and will never return. The latvians are extremley rude and obnoxious. You’d have thought this very poor country would enjoy the fact people are starting to visit their country and spend money. Not in the slighest. If you brush past someone, you get the middle finger. Dont try smiling at someone as you’ll get a horrible look.

If you buy something you’ll get the change thrown in your face…

Okay. Enough of that.

Since “we” represent the Riga Monopoly Forum, let’s say the world is changing.
Should we decide right now how and where we’re going to fit in?

Here is the download that just might influence Riga’s next 807 years.
There is no requirement to “opt-in” or be concerned with spam.

Rich Schefren has teamed up with Jay Abraham, the renowned marketing wizard,
to offer a detailed explanation of

How to Become a Riga Marketing Maven in 11 Easy Steps.

Please click here to ensure a brighter future for Riga. (12.3MB)

Double your money back, if you’re not delighted.

And now for something completely different…
A Brit who Loves Latvia.

Palin’s Travels: Michael Palin’s New Europe

Although his excellent travelogue is a quixotic departure from the intellectually subtle, sublime and sophisticated Aristophanic comedy he is better known for as a member of Monty Python,

Michael Palin loves Latvia.

And Monopoly.

After bravely slogging through 85 days of allegedly lackluster geography, boring municipalities and insufferable cuisine, fortunately for us all, Mr. Palin approaches the land we Latvians love.

Day Eighty-six: Tallinn to the Latvian border

…Not far along the road we come upon what must surely be one of the world’s most peaceful border-crossings. The silence only broken by the chatter of birds and insects and the very occasional, almost furtive, car. The name of the crossing, Ape, seemed strangely suitable in the middle of a forest.

On two long poles above a modest cabin fly the blue, black and white stripes of Estonia, with the flag of Latvia, white stripe on a dark red background, fluttering alongside. The combined population of both countries may amount to only half that of London, and yet they take their independence seriously.

Beyond Ape lies a new language, a new currency and a whole new history.

Day Eighty-seven: Aluksne to Riga

…From a small station in Aluksne, a narrow-gauge railway runs for just over 20 miles south-west to the town of Gulbene. It’s all that remains of a longer line, opened in 1903, built by the Tsarist authorities when Latvia was part of the Russian empire. A hundred years later it was saved by the new European empire, the EU, under an industrial heritage preservation programme.

The terminus at Gulbene breaks the mood. No picturesque woods here. A big, rather gloomy old station built for busier and grander times and a plaque on the wall whose chilling inscription commemorates the thousands of people who, in 1940 and 1941 were packed into cattle-wagons here and shipped out on a one-way ride to the Gulag camps in Siberia.

Day Eighty-eight: Riga

…Throughout Latvia tonight they will be celebrating Jani, an unashamedly pagan way of marking the summer solstice, and we’ve been invited out to a party deep in the countryside, some three hours from Riga. Such is the enduring popularity of this ancient animist tradition that traffic on the way out of town is of Bank Holiday proportions. Many of the cars are decorated with leaves and flowers and along the roadside some have pulled up so their occupants can gather wild flowers from the fields…

The culmination of the evening is a Bergman-like procession up the nearby hill. We push through the long grass to a point where we can see the sun go down and welcome the new moon in a celebration of death and rebirth, decay and renewal. As the sun eventually sinks, fires are lit to preserve the warmth and the light, and, in a spectacular climax, a wheel is set on fire and sent rolling down the hill towards the stream.

Day Eighty-nine – a day off (an official day off in Latvia)

Day Ninety: Riga

Yesterday, a refreshing day off pottering round, not the old centre, but the rich heritage of Riga’s Art Nouveau architecture, reflecting the wealth and enlightenment of this cosmopolitan port at the turn of the twentieth century. Alberta Street (Alberta iela) is a repository of boldly experimental flourishes, the most imaginative of which were designed by a Rigan called Mikhail Eisenstein, whose young son went on to direct films in Russia, producing such twentieth-century classics as Battleship Potemkin, Ivan The Terrible and Alexander Nevsky.

…We’re looking for something quite unusual, and looming above the tree canopy, some 20 miles north of the town of Ventspils, we finally pick it out. A massive, goblet-shaped radio telescope. In the days of Soviet occupation this was one of the most important of their listening devices, so important that when the Russians pulled out of Latvia at the end of the Cold War, they did their best to make sure it would never be used again.

But they reckoned without men like Juris Zagars…

…A few hours later I find myself down the coast in another relic of the Soviet occupation. Across the border in Lithuania is a garish, brightly lit seaside resort called Palanga, beloved not only of holidaymakers from all over the Baltics but also, once upon a time, by Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leader, who for five years between 1977 and 1982 was one of the two most powerful people in the world. And I’m to sleep in his bedroom.

(You can almost feel the boredom set in as Mr. Palin departs Latvia.)

Day Ninety-one: Palanga to Vilnius

….Lithuania is the largest of the Baltic republics and to drive across the country from the coast to the capital one senses a scale absent from its cosier neighbours to the north.

Now Palanga is beautiful, Lithuania is wonderful. The Lithuanian sense of humor almost rivals that of Latvians, so our neighbors to the south will understand the subtle whimsy here…

Day after day, again, ho-hum, more of the same, another day at the office.

I salute Mr. Palin for bravely pretending the remaining 32 days consisted of anything more than “phoning it in.”

Fortunately he will remember, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow,
but soon and for the rest of his life, that “Michael Palin will always have Riga.”

And Monopoly.

Looks like Rīga made it!

Rīga ir uz pasaules kartes!!!

2008. gada 20. augustā. Balsis ir saskaitītas! Rīga ir ievēlēta un iekarojusi savu vietu „Monopola” pasaules kartē. Rīgas fani ir novietojuši Latvijas galvaspilsētu 22 pilsētu konkurencē uz otra visvērtīgākā tumši zilā lauciņa līdzās Kanādas pilsētai Monreālai.

Šī gada sākumā „Monopola” entuziasti visā pasaulē piedalījās balsojumā par pilsētām, kuras tie vēlētos redzēt uz jaunā „Monopola” „ŠEIT UN TAGAD: PASAULES IZDEVUMS ” spēles laukuma. Kopumā sešu nedēļu laikā tika savāktas vairāk nekā 5 miljoni balsu. Par tiesībām iekļūt spēles laukumā cīnījās 70 pilsētas alfabētiskā secībā, sākot ar Amsterdamas, un beidzot ar Cīrihi (Zurich). Balva par šo cīņu – vieta vienā no 22 spēles lauciņiem. Balsošanas dalībnieki varēja nodot balsis katru dienu, on-lainā sekojot līdzi sava favorīta pozīcijai balsošanas gaitā. Pēdējā balsošanas nedēļā balsojuma rezultāti vairs netika publiskoti, tāpēc intriga par to, kuras pilsētas un kādā secībā būs izkārtojušās uz „Monopola” spēles laukuma tika saglabāta līdz pat šodienai.

Uz jaunā spēles laukuma visvērtīgāko vietu ir ieguvusi Kanādas pilsēta Monreāla, bet otro vērtīgāko spēles lauciņu pēc nepieredzēti plašas mediju un atbalstītāju rosinātas kampaņas, ir ieguvusi Latvijas galvaspilsēta Rīga.

Rīgas iekļūšanu „Monopola” Pasaules spēlē veicināja akcija „Help Riga”, kuru organizēja SIA Anvol Baltic sadarbībā ar daudziem atbalstītājiem – TV3, JC Decaux, draugiem.lv, Radio Skonto, Radio SWH, Mediacom Latvija, GCI Latvia, Rīgas Domi, Laikraksts Diena un daudziem, daudziem citiem. Vislielāko atbalstu akcijas laikā sniedza paši balsotāji, kas cītīgi piedalījās balsošanā, dienu no dienas tuvinot Rīgu kārotajai uzvarai. „Mēs pievarējām neticību un uzvarējām”, saka Edžus Jasenovičs, akcijas „Help Riga” rīkotājs un vadītājs. „Nokļūšana uz „Monopola” Pasaules spēles otrā vērtīgākā laukuma apliecina mūsu mīlestību un ticību mūsu galvaspilsētai, saviem spēkiem un nākotnei”.

„Monopola” Pasaules izdevuma zīmola vadītāja Helēna Mārtina (Helen Martin) saka: „Nododot balsošanai tik plašu pilsētu spektru, mums nebija ne jausmas, kāds varētu būt gala iznākums spēles laukumā. Mēs esam saviļņoti par jūsu lielo panākumu un Rīgas vietu uz „Monopola” pasaules spēles laukuma. Apsveicam visus, kas atdeva savas balsis un atbalstīja šīs brīnišķīgās pilsētas uzvarai”.

„Monopola” Pasaules spēles laukumu izklājums pa īpašumu grupām ir izkārtots, sākot ar vērtīgākajiem īpašumiem un sadalīts sekojošās krāsu grupās:

Tumši zilā: Monreāla, Rīga
Zaļā: Keiptauna, Belgrada, Parīze
Dzeltenā: Jeruzāleme, Honkonga, Pekina
Sarkanā: Londona, Ņujorka, Sidneja
Oranžā: Vankūvera, Šanhaja, Roma
Purpura: Toronto, Kijeva, Stambula
Gaišzilā: Atēnas, Barselona, Tokio
Brūnā: Taipeja, Gdiņa
Balsojuma gaitā bija jūtams liels emociju uzplūds attiecībā uz balsotāju dzimtajām pilsētām, iemīļotiem tūrisma galamērķiem un senču mājvietām”, saka Mārtinas kundze. „Jaunā spēle būs pieejama visiem kārotājiem jau šī mēneša beigās. Mēs ceram, ka visi spēles veidotāji un atbalstītāji gūs lielu prieku, spēlējot pašu radīto „Monopola” Pasauli un vācot nekustamos īpašumus no visas planētas.”

Pasaules „Monopolā” ir ieviesti arī tehnoloģiski jauninājumi. Tam ir jaunas spēles figūras, mājas un viesnīcas, Sociālā Fonda un Iespēju kārtis, kā arī jauni pakalpojumu lauciņi, kas atbilst starptautiskiem simboliem un globāliem (scenārijiem). Tradicionālās banknotes tiks aizvietotas ar bankas kartēm, un spēlētāji varēs iekasēt, izdot un aizņemties naudu, izmantojot „elektronisko banku”, tādējādi arī paātrinot spēles laiku, ko aizņem norēķināšanās un naudas apmaiņa.

„Monopola” Pasaules versija tiks tirgota 50 pasaules valstīs 37 valodās.

Jaunā „Monopola” spēle Latvijā (latviešu valodā) būs pieejama jau no 26. augusta veikalos „XS Rotaļlietas” (t/c „Domina”, „Galerija Centrs”, „Sky&More;”, „Galerija Azur”) un visos četros „Sky” veikalos, bet, sākot ar 15. septembri - arī citās lielākajās rotaļlietu un galda spēļu tirdzniecības vietās. Jaunās spēles cena veikalos būs aptuveni 37 lati.

„Monopola” Pasaules versiju fani var spēlēt atbilstoši savam brīvajam laikam un dzīves veidam. Spēles digitālo versiju būs iespējams lejupielādēt mobilajos telefonos, kā arī spēļu konsoļu sistēmās Nintendo Wii, Xbox360, PS2 un PS3, apmeklējot mājas lapu http://www.pogo.com. Spēles mobilā versija būs pieejama, sākot ar 27. augustu, bet konsoļu versija – 7. oktobrī.

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