Booyah today announced that its MyTown LBS app is now available in Canada, the U.K. and Australia, with global check-in support enabled via the Places Web Service — a new Google Maps API feature that returns the 20 most popular sites near a given location.
The startup closed a $20 million financing round just three months ago, and is wasting no time putting it to good use. MyTown is now the first LBS app to allow global check-ins using Google’s API. MyTown has long been the largest LBS gaming service in terms of users, and doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. Blending location-based services and social gaming features, MyTown is the first and largest consumer channel to utilize the Places Web Service, with others likely to follow suit.
“Booyah is the premier mobile and social gaming company on top of the exploding location graph,” said Keith Lee, CEO, Booyah. “Our launches in the UK, Australia and Canada are just the beginning of bringing real world gaming to players across the globe.”
Booyah claims more than 2.8 million users in the United States are actively buying properties, collecting rent and checking-in to real places in MyTown. Last week, we covered Booyah’s introduction of the product check-in, allowing players to scan barcodes of real-world products to unlock points and earn exclusive virtual items, creating real-life scavenger hunts, brand discovery and engagement. The product check-in and in-depth retail integration is the next step for LBS apps, and Booyah seems to be leading the way.