MTV Plans Virtual Valley

Van Nuys will be the setting for a new online game developed by MTV Networks. The company said it plans to add a “Pimp My Ride” virtual world to compliment its current online settings for “Laguna Beach and “The Hills.” The new Valley virtual world will center on Galpin Auto Sports, the North Hills customization shop where the popular “Pimp My Ride” television show is filmed. The new world will let users participate in races, join car clubs and customize rides and link to the other show sites, the network said. The “Laguna” and “Hills” projects, which came online in September and January, have already tallied 600,000 users.