“The World’s Mobile Playground,” Cellufun, announced introduction of a mentor program that allows seasoned Cellufun users to help acclimate newcomers to the community, easing the intimidation factor and engaging new users.

To become involved, experienced Cellufun “Citizens” visit the Cellufun Buddy Center in the mobile virtual world. From there, they have the option of welcoming up to three new users per day. Senior members can write welcome messages, answer questions, offer game tips, and point out the best deals in Cellufun’s virtual shopping mall.

“Many online social and dating communities send out artificial welcome messages from fake friends like ‘Tom’ that do nothing to increase new user activity or engagement on their site,” said Neil Edwards, CEO of Cellufun. “Our first ever buddy system redefines how social communities should welcome new users–with real people–and unleashes the group power of Cellufun’s thriving mobile community.”

As Cellufun buddies become more and more successful at welcoming new members to the Cellufun community, they will be able to mentor larger numbers of new members and achieve higher social status levels in the community.

“When our users mentor newbies, they will receive status symbols like a special icon for their avatar or a new trophy for their virtual trophy shelf. These incentives would never work with LinkedIn or Facebook–their users just aren’t as dedicated to improving their standing within those communities. Our active user base has grown by over 300 percent over the last 12 months, and we expect our first ever buddy system to fuel even more growth in coming months.”