DKNY on Stardoll

Virtual worlds Piczo and Stardoll have announced plans to merge their international operations, in hopes of better appealing to advertisers.

Stardoll operates as a virtual paper doll site for tween girls. Piczo positions itself as a friendly environment for young pop culture fans. Combined, the social networks serve about 20 million unique users; both focus heavily on forming strategic partnerships with brands bent on engaging with young users.

The deal is a combination of cash and stock. Both sites will continue to operate as separate websites. CEO Jeremy Verba of Piczo will depart, and European managing director Chris Seth will become EVP-International Advertising; the Stardoll team, led by CEO Mattias Miksche, will dominate the new order.

A new site, Paperdollheaven.com, is also in the works. It will fall under Stardoll's network.