Rovio to slingshot 'Angry Birds' into an animated series

Angry Birds is about to join other such hit video games as "Pac-Man" and turn itself into an animated series. Anyone who remembers the horror that was the Pac-Man series just shuddered, as Rovio made the announcement on Wednesday.

Angry Birds is a hit on both iOS and Android. There are also stuffed animals, as well. Milking the hit, Rovio will produce an animated series for either television or the Web.

Rovio CEO Mikael Hed told the British TV industry site C21media.net:

"We have been looking at that for quite a while, and that is definitely one of my personal big focus areas right now -- to work on broadcast content for 'Angry Birds,'"

Meanwile, company spokesman Ville Heijari told AFP:

"We are planning a cartoon that would be interesting to the whole family, for both adults and children. We are seeking co-operation with the best scriptwriters and the best distributors."

An Angry Birds player uses a slingshot to catapult birds of varying types at various structures and pigs. who stole the birds eggs. It will be interesting to see if they can pull off a series that makes sense. Pac-Man was just silly, and you can watch a clip to confirm it yourself.

North Korea allows first Western movie to be aired on TV: 'Bend it Like Beckham'

It's not the same as allowing Pay-Per-View, but it can still be "viewed" with wonder: North Korea has allowed the film "Bend It Like Beckham" to be aired on North Korean television. The British soccer film is the first Western movie to be aired on North Korean TV.

North Korea, however, is known to be wild about soccer, and even participated in the 2011 World Cup.

The 2002 comedy stars Keira Knightley, Parminder Nagrea and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. It follows follows British-Indian Jesminder "Jess" Kaur Bhamra (Nagrea) as she tries to convince her conservative Indian parents to allow her to play soccer.

The reference to "bend it" comes from soccer star David Beckham's ability "bend" the path of a free kick, but it also apparently had the subtext of bending the rules of life.

Although the film was edited, Great Britain's North Korea ambassador Peter Hughes, who helped arrange the viewing, saw it as a great step. He said,

"This was the first Western film to be broadcast on North Korean TV, and as well as football covered issues such as multiculturalism, equality and tolerance. Apparently the people were amazed that a Western film was shown. And there has been a buzz around the country as people have talked about the film and its content."