Sony Online Entertainment's G.I.R.L. Scholarship Program Now Accepting Applications

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) today announced that it is now accepting applications and submissions for its 2013 Gamers in Real Life (G.I.R.L.) Game Design Competition. Now in its sixth year, the G.I.R.L. Scholarship prides itself as being an active catalyst for inspiring women's involvement in the video game industry, as well as for providing an open gateway for those pursuing careers in the field of creative and applied arts.

SOE will award one winner of the 2013 G.I.R.L. Game Design Competition with a scholarship in the amount of $10,000 to be applied towards tuition and other educational expenses at the winner's school of enrollment. Winners will also be given the opportunity to participate in a paid internship of up to 10 weeks at SOE's headquarters in San Diego for hands-on experience working on one or more of the company's games.

"At SOE, we believe that diversity is one of our keys to success and it is truly woven into the fabric of who we are as a company," said Laura Naviaux, Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. "We want to help make the games industry even that much more approachable and our goal with the G.I.R.L. Scholarship is to provide an easy way to usher even more women into the industry."

Submissions for the 2013 G.I.R.L. Game Design Competition will close on March 29, 2013. To apply, applicants must register with Scholarship America^®, SOE's scholarship administrator, and submit their application for evaluation, as directed here: https://www.scholarshipamerica.org/gamersinreallife/.

Since its inception in 2008, the G.I.R.L. program has granted scholarships to five winners through its annual "Game Design Competition," with each winner making an impact within the gaming and art industries.

For more information about G.I.R.L., please visit girl.soe.com. To follow G.I.R.L. on Twitter, go to https://twitter.com/SOE_GIRL or to join G.I.R.L. on Facebook, go to http://tinyurl.com/SOE-GIRL.

About Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games.  Best known for its blockbuster hits and franchises, including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, PlanetSide®, Free Realms®, Star Wars®: Clone Wars Adventures™, DC Universe™ Online, and the recently launched PlanetSide®2, SOE creates, develops and provides compelling online entertainment for a variety of platforms.  SOE is building on its proven legacy and pioneering the future of online worlds through creative development and inspired gameplay design for audiences of all ages. To learn more, visit www.soe.com.

About Scholarship America^®
Scholarship America^® is a national education service organization that mobilizes support for students getting into and graduating from college. Scholarship America has distributed more than $2.5 billion in scholarship assistance to more than 1.7 million students over the last 50 years. Scholarship America's programs, which include Dollars for Scholars®, help fund both entry-level and multi-year scholarships, as well as emergency financial grants. More information is available at www.scholarshipamerica.org.

SOURCE Sony Online Entertainment LLC