Ubisoft, Square Enix, NCsoft, Fuhu and Sanrio have tapped PlaySpan’s UltimatePay Mobile, a new virtual currency and micropayments monetization widget for various smartphone platforms.

Mobile payments for digital goods is a growing trend, with gaming sites and social networks creating huge demand for user-friendly purchase mechanisms.

Mobile developer Webtab is letting consumers purchase and send real gifts such as drinks to their friends using an iPhone application.

Zong’s top executive cited his company’s four newest hires as an indication of the robust growth of the mobile payments space.

Woozworld Inc., a Web 2.0 virtual world powered by tweens with more than one million user-generated virtual spaces, has partnered with mobile payment platform Zong.

In the wake of a new round of funding and new hires, a Boku Inc. executive discussed the state of the mobile payments industry in an exclusive interview.

From ringtones, ring-backs and wallpapers to applications, games, virtual goods and video, the mobile content industry in the United States is booming like never before.

The Virtual Zippo Lighter application for the iPhone and iPod touch is offering users in-application purchasing of premium licensed skins in more than 72 countries worldwide.

Mobile social network MocoSpace found that iPhone/Android users are 72 percent more likely to buy virtual currency than feature-phone users.

IAC/Mindspark’s Zwinky, an online avatar site that integrates with social networks, and online games publisher Aeria Games have tapped Zong to enable mobile payments.