There's a Sea of Troubles in store for our aquatic friend Bob the bubble in this new version of uvme's classic game "Bubble Trouble", out now on uvme.

Bob's troubled journey to the water's surface now seems so much more real, with beautiful pre-rendered graphics and Bob's grimacing face! Will he ever make it through all the mines and pesky red bubbles to reach the top?

At least now there are checkpoints that he can reach, marked by the new flashing beacon indicator on the left side of the screen… and then, even if one of his three bubble lives is burst, he doesn’t have to start from the very bottom again, just from the last crossed checkpoint. This new version also features power-up expiration timers and extra bonuses.

With the start of the new Business Cycle (BC6) next week, uvme’s regular “News and Events” email update will be expanded into a more in-depth newsletter, to be published monthly in the first week of each new BC. The first issue in this new format will be sent out around Friday, 30th May.

In addition to these regular, end-of-cycle newsletter updates, uvme will continue to issue news and events emails for important happenings as they occur - for example, when a new game is launched or a new event is planned, an immediate bulletin will go out in the email template using the header above.

uvme have launched a new automatic email system which when you challenge someone to a game, they receive an email saying who has challenged them to what game, at what time and for how much prize money!

Also going live on Monday are the other new emails from this automated system, including daily winnings summaries and refund notifications (for declined/expired challenges or games that did not complete).

Two new payment methods will be added to the uvme games platform this week. The first, WebMoney, was originally used mainly in Russia, but is now spreading around the world as an acceptable Internet payment system with more than four and a half million users. The second, paysafecard, is already available on the uvme business-building site and is a popular European electronic payment method - available in the UK at all pay points displaying the logo.

Both methods allow people who do not have a credit card - or simply wish to avoid using it for online transactions - to make Internet purchases and upload funds to uvme!

To improve communication and to streamline the mailing process across our global offices, uvme has a new worldwide Support Centre address.

From 6th May 2008 onwards, if you need to send anything to uvme Customer Support via the postal service, the address is:

uvme Member Support
St Georges Chambers
1 Athol Street
Douglas IM1 1LD
British Isles

The Support Team’s contact telephone numbers, fax numbers and email addresses will stay the same, and are as follows:

Tel:          + 44 (0) 1492 536300
Fax:         + 44 (0) 1492 523085

uvme have now added a FAQ for the Instant Messenger to the .com games website, under the “Support” tab. This will continue to be updated throughout the beta development process. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) detailed:

Will the uvme Instant Messenger open automatically as soon as I login?
How can I see my contacts on the Instant Messenger?
How can I add contacts to my Instant Messenger?
Can I import my contacts from MSN/AIM/Yahoo! etc to my Instant Messenger?
Why doesn’t a contact I just added appear in my contacts list?
How do I start a conversation with one of my contacts?
How can I tell if the person I am having a conversation with has got my message?
I don’t have an arrow next to my folders – why not?
How can I tell if my contacts are online or not?
How can I see my other contacts who are currently OFFLINE?
Why aren’t offline contacts displayed all of the time?
How can I change someone’s screen name in my IM contact list, so I know who they are?
How do I remove someone from my contact list?
What does “status” mean, and what are all the different status messages for?
How do I change my status?
How will I know if I have received a message from one of my contacts?
Why didn’t I receive the chat message my friend was sending me while we were playing a uvme game?
Can I have more than one conversation window open at any time?
Can I send a challenge to my contacts using the Instant Messenger?
How can I use “emoticons” to let my contacts know the mood or tone of a message?
I can’t see any of my contacts.  Why is this?

As well as viewing the FAQs on the .com site, you can download them in Microsoft Word format here.

Within just 6.5 weeks since its launch, more than 1 million games have already been played on uvme.

As of this morning, March 7th, 2008, the number of games played had reached 1,152,626 – a jump of over half a million games from just two weeks previously.
This huge demand for the games, even in the early days of the platform, proves how in-demand and popular the games are… and they “ain’t seen nothing yet”.

With new games to come, plus the new version of the web-based instant messenger, the downloadable IM, and the new website code-named “Project Black Diamond” all due to be released soon, these figures are sure to skyrocket!

Players may now use PayPal to deposit funds on the uvme games website! PayPal is one of the most popular and well-known payment systems on the Internet (used by giants such as Ebay), with trusted security and reliability.

The availability of PayPal as a payment method on your site opens this opportunity to even more potential players, games promoters and Associates!

The new business-building website, code-named “Project Black Diamond”, has been approved and is now in its final design stage.

We will be getting more information about this over next couple of weeks, but I have to say it looks stunning and much more professional than the current .biz website. Judging by what has been said in last nights conference call, it would seem this new design is going to tie in with something else. Could this be the another BIG company name? I hope so, because this brand will suddenly become red hot if that is the case. We know their have been secret meetings with some "big names" so I can't wait to see what this is all about. Project Black Diamond is expected to go live in the next 2-3 weeks…

Logging onto the .biz site this morning revealed a couple of nice little updates! Firstly, when an associate logs in to the site, the welcome message at the top tells you if your active or not:

Welcome Back UVMESPACE - Qualified Active

…and the Genealogy page now displays an associates "Q" position:

UVMESPACE (149786) GBR (Q1)

Finally, the Statement pages appear to be functioning correctly in Firefox too now!

Great stuff!