New face, features for Disney site

Disney today relaunched its popular Web site, as expected, adding many features for free that previously were part of its paid subscription service for children.

Disney.go.com offers 12 channels including games, activities, stories, movies, music, shopping, and vacation information. The site also offers multiplayer games and other interactive features. The subscription-based Disney's Daily Blast has been renamed Disney's Club Blast; the service soon plans to offer instant messaging.

CNET News.com reported last week that these changes were in the works, although company executives declined comment at the time.

"Our goal for the new Disney.com is to create the absolute best interactive entertainment for kids and families on the Internet," Ken Goldstein, senior vice president and manager of Disney Online, said in a statement.

The company faces stiff competition from many other child-oriented Web sites, including those of America Online and Viacom, which, along with its current Nickelodeon site, is planning to launch a new children's site in September, with the working title "Project Nozzle."