Animal lovers in the UK should be happy to find out that RSPCA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) has recently released its first mobile game. Called Mobidog and created together with Lateral, a mobile content developer based in London, the game should "help spread the message of responsible pet ownership".

Mobidog comes after the launch of Cyberpet (also created in collaboration with Lateral), an application that places a virtual pet on a PC desktop in order to be taken care of by users.

Talking about both Cyberpet and the new Mobidog game, Mathew Riley, group account director at Lateral, declared, "The next logical step was to allow people to access a similar message on their mobile phones. We decided to move away from what is already on the market, for example, another Tamagotchi-influenced experience and develop a series of games based on classic arcade games".

Helen Ball, RSPCA campaigner, added, "The aim of the game is to educate the user on the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which places a 'duty of care' on pet owners to ensure they look after their pet. The main aim is to convey, in an entertaining way, an animal's prime welfare needs, which include the need for food and water, shelter, exercise, and companionship and veterinary care when necessary. Mobidog is interactive, playful and educational, with a competitive slant. We hope it will help get the message about looking after pets properly across to a young audience".

Mobidog is offered by RSPCA and Lateral for free, although it could have been sold for a few pounds in order to raise more funds for the UK charity. Anyway, the new game can be downloaded from its RSPCA official website (found at this address) or by sending an SMS with the word PLAY to 60022.