AOL Studios Launches Digital City New York

AOL Studios launched Digital City New York with backing from advertisers that include American Express, Barnes & Noble, Bloomingdale’s, Omnipoint and Universal Pictures.

The interactive online city site will be available on both the Web at newyork.digitalcity.com, and AOL through the Local Channel on America Online and at AOL Keyword: New York, as well as AOL.com.

The newest of 32 Digital City sites nationwide, Digital City New York kicks off Digital City Inc.’s roll-out of its 2.0 version, which will provide an upgrade including additional ease-of-use, enhanced member interactivity and community through the launch of the Digital City Virtual Neighborhood.

The virtual neighborhood will include free home pages, online clubs, email lists and local hosts. Digital City New York has seven departments ranging from News and Sports to Movies, Dining and Citywise, a source for urban survival tools, including subway maps.

Content partners include NY1, Playbill, Regional News Network (RNN), WABC-TV, WB11/WPIX, and WFAN Sports Radio. Contributors include playwright Wendy Wasserstein and journalist Pete Hamill.

Digital City New York allows advertisers to reach New York-based AOL and Web users with one media buy, AOL said. And the Digital City network of cities, which has thousands of national and local advertisers, affords advertisers the opportunity to tailor national and regional campaigns.

Other advertisers at launch include Acura, Geico Direct Auto Insurance, New York Delivery.com, N2K’s Music Boulevard, Sony Pictures and USA Free. Customized campaigns including banners, buttons and sponsorships.