Scrabble, Facebook face off

LONDON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- A face-off between old-school Scrabble and high-tech Facebook could spell the demise of a popular diversion for millions of game players worldwide.

Toymakers Hasbro and Mattel have asked the popular online social networking Web site, Facebook, to remove its Scrabulous game, saying it infringes their copyright to Scrabble, The Daily Telegraph said.

Scrabulous is a miniature version of the classic board game and was created by a third-party firm in India. About 600,000 people around the world now play the mini-game online daily on Facebook, the British newspaper said.

"Mattel values its intellectual property and actively protects its brands and trademarks," Mattel UK said Tuesday in a statement.