Habbo Hotel is a virtual community, owned and operated by Sulake Corporation, that combines the two concepts of a chat room and an online game. The original conception of Habbo Hotel, Mobiles Disco, was created as a small project by two young Finnish men: Sampo Karjalainen and Aapo Kyrölä. It was intended to promote a rock band called Mobiles. The pair later sold their project to the Finnish telecoms giant Elisa Oyj.
The game is centered around habbohotel coins, virtual representations of its members. Habbos can be dressed by each user individually using pre-supplied virtual clothing. Each character has a different name, and is identified solely by this name. The service?s other focus point is virtual furni, which can be bought by Habbos using credits bought via a variety of methods, including SMS, home phone, and money order. This furniture can also be traded between users.
