Accomplished Software developer Lizard Interactive has announced that its free-to-play gaming portal, NeoFun (www.neofun.com), is to receive an overhaul to improve its visual appeal and strengthen its community features. Since its official launch last October, NeoFun has looked to become a premier destination for casual online gamers, and sees this improvement as a way to attract a more dedicated user base.

This particular improvement project is the second phase in Lizard Interactive’s long-term plan for NeoFun, the first of which was to introduce a strong line up of free online games to the site. These included the MMOs Sho Online, Cronous and Land of Magic.

On the community features side, the developer is keeping quiet, so far only announcing that the new website will include ‘mini blogs’, and that “NeoFun will be the ultimate playground for gamers which will satisfy all the needs of what gamers ever hoped for”.

With so many free online gaming portals now available, the market is becoming increasingly crowded. Top tier developers are also getting in on the act: veteran developers SEGA have just launched their casual game site, www.playsega.com, and Jagex Ltd, developers of the massive MMORPG RuneScape, are approaching the second year of their free-to-play java games portal, www.FunOrb.com.