If you like all things cute, pink and Japanese, you might want to check out the upcoming stress test for Hello Kitty Online. The test will start on Valentines Day and run for four days, with Founder Members getting access from February 12th. Sanrio had the following to say about the "Happy Hearts" event, which will run for the duration of the test:

Things aren't all as they should be in Sanrio Land: Cupid has gone missing, and the romance of the season is also nowhere to be found. It's up to our Founders to find him, and more importantly, help bring back the love! We’ll also be giving away exclusive items to the first few to finish the quest chain, so stay tuned for details!

The full press release and details on how to sign up for the test follow after the jump.

The following editorial contains views that are the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of Allakhazam.com

Due to the relatively anonymous nature of the internet, the safety of children is paramount in the eyes of most parents, law enforcement officials and other concerned people and organizations. Whether it’s through online games, social networking sites, blogs, forums or chat rooms, youngsters can interact with strangers at a rapid pace. And in the world of Hello Kitty Online, all of these communication tools have been combined to make a player's life accessible at the click of a button if they so choose.

The focus on social interaction in Hello Kitty Online, a new massively multiplayer online game developed by Sanrio Digital and Typhoon Games, is not necessarily a negative aspect of the game. It can actually grant players the opportunity to work together as a team rather than against each other in combat or competition. However, it does draw attention to the necessity of a safe playing environment for the game’s target audience, which tends to be younger Hello Kitty fans.

Kitty White, also known as Hello Kitty, was introduced in 1974 by creator Yuko Shimizu. The fictional character turned 34 on Nov. 1, which demonstrates why the popular franchise appeals to fans of all ages, including adults. Players of Hello Kitty Online will certainly span all age groups, but children will easily be drawn to the virtual world of Kitty White and her friends.

The Hello Kitty Online Founders' Beta officially ended at midnight and the HKO team has already taken the time to thank the players for their support.

They don't mention any sort of release date for the upcoming open beta in the post, but they do give us a surprise bit of information:

we will be having SOMETHING before Open Beta so it’d be awesome if you guys KEEP THE CLIENT !

Check out the whole post below or here.

In an amazing showing of support from the Hello Kitty Online community, players created and submitted 344,965 in-game food items during the "Food for Friends" event, which means Sanrio Digital will donate $12,000 to be split between UNICEF and the Asian Youth Orchestra !

From Nov. 1-6, players produced raw materials on their farms and crafted them into food items. Each item carried a different value based on how difficult it was to create that item. Foods included chocolate milk, lemon pies, strawberry cakes, roasted vegetables, oat biscuits and more. This really was a wonderful event. Every MMO should follow Sanrio Digital's lead when it comes to charitable events.

Also, the Founders' Beta ends tomorrow at midnight, but there's still a bunch of new events to participate in before the doors close. Check out the HKO news post or events blog for more information on the Blog for Thought, Crop Circles, A Day with Hello Kitty and Friends, Body Doubles and the Kevent. Winners will get fine diamond jewelry from MBLife.com.

The Hello Kitty Online Founders' Beta is going to end on Saturday, Nov. 8 at midnight EST, so be sure to log on and enjoy the final stretch if you're a part of it.

Also, check out the HKO Event Blog for updates on all the in-game happenings.

The closed beta is ending to make way for improvements for the upcoming open beta.

Hello Kitty's birthday is tomorrow, Nov. 1, and she's turning 34! To celebrate, a huge birthday party will be held in the virtual world of Hello Kitty Online with a ton of events, including one for charity that will raise money for UNICEF and the Asian Youth Orchestra.

The birthday party for Kitty White, who was introduced in 1974 by creator Yuko Shimizu, will be held Nov. 1-2. Hello Kitty herself will make special appearances throughout the event, and players can enjoy mini-games and gifts during the celebration.

In addition, guilds will race to build the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty from Nov. 1-6 for special items and formal recognition. The "Food for Friends" charity event will also be held during that time to provide help for the two worthwhile children's organizations. This is the final week of the Founder's Beta, and the developers are ending it with a bang!

A full press release from Sanrio Digital can be found after the jump.

Pink is the new gamer colors folks, and the HKO beta client is now available for download for the elder testers!  Here's what the San Rio Digital blog has to say!

What better place to start than where we left off? Ripplecloud has posted the most amazing story ever right here in her blog. Be sure to check it out!  You may also want to go back and read How did we get so big ? A great story of fantastic friendship and people coming together to help each other!

Lastly, please be sure to check out the new post in the hello kitty online blog. There you will find instructions for downloading a client which you will use to be able to play founders beta. I am so very excited and I hope to see you all in game!

You can find the client download right here.

There's a brand new Hello Kitty Online trailer now available! If you're looking for more HKO news and haven't seen the new screen shots, check them out!

There's a few more screen shots on the San Rio Digital blog !

Following up on our editorial yesterday we present another tester's experience in Hello Kitty Online.

I don't often do beta tests just for the sake of doing them. Between Allakhazam and the kids I'm usually short of time, and I have this low-key fear that some game will seduce me away from my beloved EverQuest II. But I got the chance to slip into Hello Kitty Online's Closed Beta, and I figured, oh, why not?

Now, I'm not one of the millions of people who dote on Hello Kitty. The 34 year old sweetie drives one billion dollars in world-wide sales a year , but in 1974 when she hit the scene Alaska was a bit out of step with current trends, and I don't think I even saw any Hello Kitty merchandise until I was out of high school (that'd be nineteen eighty-mumbledy-something). So the initial draw, that of "OMG! It's HELLO KITTY!! *squeal*" completely passes me by. It does, however, give the game a huge advantage with a large and diverse consumer base that is ready to embrace everything and anything Hello Kitty. I'm quite willing to embrace the game experience despite my lack of Hello Kitty savvy.

So most of us know what HelloKitty is - the backpacks, shoes, funny little kitty images etc. But the makers of Hello Kitty Online, a.k.a. SanrioTown, have taken these things one step further. They have created a virtual world where players, young and old, can interact with their favorite characters from this franchise in a whole new way. And to some, this is a refreshing take on an old genre. A far cry from the standard hack and slash MMOs, with their world of raiding, loot and punishment of the "enemy", HKO focuses more on friendship, doing things for the greater good and simply having non violent fun in a virtual game world.

I had to see for myself what all the fuss was about so I checked out the beta for this. The first thing I noticed was the color scheme. It's very open and approachable, with lots of bright pink, yellow and white, colors that look like they are designed to appeal to a younger crowd. When I first logged in, the character creation screen was pretty generic as well, no "overly defined" male or female types, so I think they did a great job of keeping the game as non defining in terms of sexuality as possible. The last thing kids or younger people really need exposure to in a game like this, is a predefined self image.