Numerous online communities have teamed up with GamerDNA.com to raise money for Child's Play, a nonprofit charity created by Penny Arcade's Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik that provides games and toys to children in hospitals throughout the world.

All you have to do is visit GamerDNA's event page and pick one of 12 communities you would like to represent, including the MMORPG Pirates of the Burning Sea. You then take a quiz and get a virtual badge you can post on your Myspace page, blog, forums etc. to draw attention to the event. The community with the most badge views at the end of the month wins and gets to choose the children's hospital that will receive six Nintendo DS systems and games from GamerDNA.

You can also choose to pitch in to Child's Play on behalf of your favorite community. Currently, Pirates of the Burning Sea has 467 badge views and has raised $50 through direct donations. ElitistJerks.com is leading the pack with 660,635 badge views and $1,411 through direct donations. Read the full press release after the jump for more information and a full list of participating communities.

CAMBRIDGE, MA – December 8, 2008 – GamerDNA.com has kicked off a new contest amongst leading online communities in partnership with Child’s Play, a non-profit charity, to help gather donations for children’s hospitals across the globe this holiday season. Throughout the month of December, gamerDNA is challenging the members of various online communities to share a unique virtual badge in as many places as possible online, both representing their game community and helping to spread the word about the Child’s Play organization.

The following leading online communities have signed up to support the contest to date, with members having already raised thousands of dollars in donations and the contest generating hundreds of thousands of impressions! To get involved, community members should visit www.gamerdna.com/childsplay.

• GameDaily.com
• ElitistJerks.com
• IMVU.com
• GamingAngels.com
• SFX-360.com
• TheMarriedGamers.net
• AskMen.com
• Piczo.com
• Pirates of the Burning Sea (BurningSea.com)
• StrategyWiki.org
• SixApart Media (SixApart.com)
• GameOn! (GameOn.Dispatch.com)

As part of the contest, community members complete the gamerDNA Decades of Influence Quiz, an entertaining and nostalgic multiple-choice quiz that helps gamers learn what aspects of the past four decades of gaming have had the most influence on their individual gaming identity. After completing the quiz, participants will receive a unique virtual badge featuring their quiz results and the name of the community they represent. Using the embeddable codes provided, participants race to share their badge in as many online locations as possible. The community that shares the most badges will select which Children’s Hospital is to receive a donation of 6 bundles of Nintendo DS systems and games donated by gamerDNA.

GamerDNA encourages participants to make a donation of any size to Child’s Play, however, a monetary donation is not required to participate. To view a complete list of participating communities visit: www.gamerdna.com/childsplay