The winning outfit was created within The Sims 2 using the game’s design tool, presented in an online fashion showcase, selected to be manufactured, and will be made available for purchase in nearly 1,000 H&M retail locations worldwide. Shoppers will be able to buy the outfit in the US, the UK, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong and China for $14.90 USD.

The outfit was selected by H&M through a unique partnership with EA that encouraged fans of the The Sims, designers and fashionistas alike, to participate in The Sims 2 H&M Fashion Runway. Any The Sims 2 player could participate by designing an H&M-inspired outfit in The Sims 2 game and uploading it to TheSims2.com Exchange. The finalists’ designs were showcased on a virtual fashion runway, hosted by Yahoo!, bridging the virtual world and the fashion world like never before! More than 1,000 aspiring fashion designers and fans of The Sims submitted designs that were voted on by more than 100,000 people and viewed by more than 500 million people in the six weekly fashion shows on Yahoo.

“The Sims is thrilled that an outfit designed by one of our players is on its way to H&M stores around the world,” said Nancy Smith, President of The Sims Label. “This is a testament to our players’ imagination and vibrant sense of community, demonstrated by the significant number of people who viewed the online showcase. We thank players of The Sims everywhere, H&M and Yahoo! for collaborating to make this a fun -- and fashionable -- outlet for creativity.”

The selected outfit can be seen in H&M stores with a special The Sims 2 hangtags and signage.

“This is an ideal partnership, and creativity is a key attribute The Sims and H&M share,” said Jörgen Andersson, H&M Global Marketing Director. “Encouraging players of The Sims to try their hand being an H&M designer prompted a deeper engagement with our brand in a way that was organic. We were so impressed, but not entirely surprised by the quantity and quality of great designs players created.”

“H&M and Yahoo! are the perfect collaborators with The Sims,” said Steve Seabolt, Vice President of Global Brand Development for The Sims. “Their brands are respected and admired around the world and with a loyal and growing global player base for The Sims, this initiative brings to life the creativity that our players love so much.”

Also, you can now shop for yourself and your Sims with The Sims 2 H&M Fashion Stuff Pack! In this Stuff Pack for The Sims 2, your Sims can choose from contemporary fashion essentials — all inspired by real H&M designs. Players can also use the all-new store-themed items to design their own H&M retail environment and build a H&M store in their game.

In countries beyond the US and Canada the outfit can be found starting July 6, 2008 and in North America starting July 31, 2008.