Japanese Anime virtual world, TinierMe, has a joint project with FUNimation Entertainment featuring anime sensation Hetalia: Axis Power in a limited promotional campaign. The partnership will extend the influence of Japanese anime culture all over the world as it gives fans the chance to meet other enthusiasts in a virtual world, and is part of TinierMe’s plan towards shaping a virtual economy in the US.  Heavily reliant on the cloud’s capabilities to scale a virtual economy around the world, the project will also market authentic items such as axis character uniforms, hairstyles, accessories etc. for fan’s personal avatars.

Hetalia: Axis Power portrays political and historic events whose characters are the personification of 40 countries. The story revolves around 3 main entities: Italy, Germany and Japan, whose relationship and conflict speaks of the events during the second World War, and spans far beyond this disruptive era in history. It was originally a manga title published in 2008, which became an anime series that FUNimation has been distributing worldwide since January 2010. It was finally released in September 2010 and became an instant hit—even positioning itself as one of the best-selling and most popular series of the year. A feature-length Hetalia: Axis Powers film entitled Paint it, White! was opened in Japan last 2010 as well but is arranged to be released on DVD in North America in the Fall of 2011.

“TinierMe has seen continued success with Japanese pop culture partnerships and our fans are looking forward to seeing more of their favorite manga and anime characters. As a result, we’re excited to bring Hetalia: Axis Powers characters to our online world and hope to bring more popular brands in the near future,” said Masaru Ohnogi, CEO of TinierMe.

With plans for global expansion, the TinierMe virtual world seems the perfect place to promote the Hetalia brand, reveling in social interaction, and even generating some revenue on the side. With the cloud at its disposal, TinierMe is finding that its virtual world makes a lasting cultural impression.  It’s a notion Kristen Nicole discussed with TinierMe a few weeks back, outlining their goals around growth and user engagement on a large scale.  For the Hetalia campaign, TinierMe is going after a kindred effect.

“This time we expect a similar cultural impact, with the added element that Hetalia characters represent different countries and the stories represent historical events,” a TinierMe representative writes to us. “We think this will add another layer of cultural understanding.”