Turkish gaming agency Yogurt Technologies announced the launch of a 3D virtual marketplace at the DEMO Spring 2012 conference in Santa Clara, California. Yogurtistan is an online world integrated into Facebook that lets users interact and shop in virtual stores created by brands. They can create a customizable avatar, try on clothes, chat with others, and buy both virtual and real goods. The aim is to revolutionize e-commerce and customer engagement, and game mechanics will also be utilized to keep the platform entertaining. Yogurtistan’s CEO Cemil Turun said:

We are creating a new experience by mimicking real-life engagement by going from store to store without changing a tab, or entering the web site address of the store. This is one centralized system. I can run into a promotion, a friend, or simply begin to chat with a stranger in the street, all of which is accessible on any browser or even an iPad.

Yogurtistan is built on Adobe Flash player version 11.2, accessible on PC, Mac or tablet (via an Air 3.2 app), and it is also integrated into Facebook. Currently in private beta, it features one plaza at the moment with stores including Turkey’s largest supermarket chain Migros, global retailer Quiksilver, and kitchenware brand Tefal.

Yogurtistan