Marvel, start-up ink online gaming deal - WSJ

March 17 (Reuters) - Media company Marvel Entertainment Inc MVL.N has reached an exclusive 10-year agreement with Gazillion Entertainment to allow the videogame publisher to make multiplayer online games based on Marvel's characters, the Wall Street Journal said.

Privately held Gazillion, whose investors include Allen & Co. and Oak Investments, is expected to announce the deal on Tuesday, the paper said.

Gazillion will make online multiplayer games using Marvel characters such as Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk, the paper said.

The two companies will share revenue earned from the games, but did not reveal details of their financial arrangement, the paper said.

Gazillion's first Marvel-themed game, Super Hero Squad, is expected to launch in 2010 and will let children play the role of a super hero to complete missions, the paper said.

Shares of Marvel, whose businesses include comic-book publishing, licensing and films, closed at $23.88 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by S. John Tilak in Bangalore; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)