Microsoft's Bing debuted last May, and since then, it has marketed relentlessly in an attempt to sell itself as a worthy rival to the Google search engine. Bing's latest marketing tactic, which was to drive traffic to its official Facebook fan page by offering free FarmVille cash, brought in over 400,000 fans to Bing in one day.

The offer has since ended, but Christopher Heine of ClickZ reported the numbers: "Its Facebook fans currently total 564,000, which puts Bing ahead of search rival Google's 524,000. Facebook metrics firm AppData shows that 28.7 million people played FarmVille on Tuesday. Therefore, 1 to 2 percent of players clicked through the ad to become fans of Bing."

And while Google still out performs Bing in terms of usage, Heine suggests that Bing's true motive behind the drive of traffic "was to gain a bigger Facebook presence" due to Microsoft having recently signed FarmVille to MSN Games.

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As usual, Zynga used the occasion of its weekly podcast to offer up some hints at what new features are coming soon to the mega-hit Facebook game. First up was a cryptic hint at a new feature that will "allow you to better communicate with your neighbors in-game." The podcast was light on details, but suggested the new feature would be useful if "sign posts [are] just not cutting it for you anymore."

Next up, the podcast said that the team would be fine tuning Mastery, Achievements and Leveling "in the near future." No details on how these tweaks would manifest themselves, but if they're anything like the Feb. 20 leveling update, it's going to be easier than ever to see your numbers go up.

Lastly, with St. Patrick's Day coming up, Farmville is of course getting into the act with new St. Patrick's Day themed mystery boxes and limited edition items. Remember, these items will be purchasable with the gold you've been hoarding in your new gold box, so be sure to save up.

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"The secret to Farmville's popularity is neither gameplay nor aesthetics. Farmville is popular because in entangles users in a web of social obligations. When users log into Facebook, they are reminded that their neighbors have sent them gifts, posted bonuses on their walls, and helped with each others' farms. In turn, they are obligated to return the courtesies. As the French sociologist Marcel Mauss tells us, gifts are never free: they bind the giver and receiver in a loop of reciprocity. It is rude to refuse a gift, and ruder still to not return the kindness. We play Farmville, then, because we are trying to be good to one another. We play Farmville because we are polite, cultivated people."
- A. J. Patrick Liszkiewicz in January talk at SUNY Buffalo entitled "Cultivated Play: Farmville" Read the entire thing if you want a rather pessimistic take on the whole social gaming phenomenon

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St. Patrick's Day isn't 'til March 17th, but games like Tiki Farm and FarmVille have already started with the Irish holiday-themed items.

In Tiki Farm, the Lady Leprechaun and Four-Leaf Clover, which is cool since it's a plantable and harvestable item, are gifts-only. The Leprechaun himself is 400 shells, the Keg is twice that, and the green "Lucky Cow" costs a hefty 16,000 shells.

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These may look like colored blocks from a puzzle game, but they're actually decorative crates that Playdom's released for their Facebook island farming simulation game, Tiki Farm. The crates have their own tab at the in-game store, costs 50 shells each (shells are what passes for coins in this game), and while they're not stackable, they make good dividers (almost like the colorful Hay Bales in FarmVille).

Another unexpected use for the crates, as evidenced by the growing number of in-game fanart showcased on Games.com's FarmVille Pic of the Day, is to tile them on your fields to make pixelated artwork for some pretty amazing results.

A sizable segment of Restauarant City gamers tend to play around like this as well, just check out this YouTube video of a user recreating Hello Kitty on the floor of her restaurant using various colored items and floor tiles.

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Playing FishVille, or any Facebook aquarium game, introduces you to an entire assortment of beautiful fish. And if you actually bother to research each one, it's enough to turn you into an amateur ichthyologist or an expert fish trivia nut...

...this brings us to our Fun Fish Fact of the Day: Fish jerky is very popular among Koreans, and Filefish is often dried, salted or sweetened, and roasted as a snack. They reportedly go well with soju, the Korean equivalent of Japanese sake.

This week, for a limited time, FishVille is offering the Orangehead Filefish, which costs 8 Sand Dollars and only requires you to feed it once every 6 days until it fully matures, at which point, you can sell it for 12,000 coins. (Now if only the game would let us collect the fish instead of forcing us to sell or watch the pretty fishies grow sick and die.)

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It's a shame and mystery why FishVille has chosen the above items for removal. Theme-wise so far, FishVille has been classing up with Roman antiques and serious space exploration. But these retiring decor pieces are some of the oldest items in the game, and also some of the funniest and wackiest. And I do think the game can stand to be less stuffy and razzle-dazzle, and offer more kitchsy and quirky decorations.

From left to right, you're looking at the Flame Hawkfish, Jellyfish Jam, bobble-headed Hula Girl, Pineapple House, underwater Toaster, Octopop, and the Scuba Diver. They're all available via Sand Dollars, and you can get XP for buying them. For example, buying the Pineapple House will earn you 1000 XP at the cost of 10 Sand Dollars.

Take heed, if you've ever craved an Octopop, or understand the appeal of a Pineapple House, then you've got less than 3 days to snatch these before they're gone! And except for the Hawkfish, all these items can be found under the Decorations tab at the in-game store.

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Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), best known for MMOs like Everquest and the upcoming DC Universe Online, today announced the launch of their first Facebook game, Poxnora. The hybrid real-time strategy/collectible card game, which has been available through poxnora.com since 2006 and was acquired by SOE in early 2009, already boasts over 2.5 million players, according to SOE. Existing players will be able to link their Sony Station accounts with their Facebook accounts for a seamless transition between the platforms.

"From microtransactions to community play, SOE has customized the Facebook version of PoxNora to appeal to a wider social networking audience in a fun and engaging way," the company said in a press release. "The new PoxNora for Facebook harnesses the platform's social channels by allowing users to invite friends and post updates of accomplishments."

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Last week, over 90,000 fans of Restaurant City's official fan page voted on one of the page's freebie announcements. These votes were a challenge issued by Playfish, promising to match one coin to every ten 'likes' their post got.

The end result was a free 9,000 coins for all fans, but the amount had to be distributed in 3k installments over the span of 3 days. Well, those 3 days are up, and the 9k is there for the taking in one fell swoop!

The links to each 3k bag are below:
Bag #1: http://bit.ly/cH6irs
Bag #2: http://playfi.sh/bqUHGf
bag #3: http://playfi.sh/cRiaRr

Way to go Restaurant City! Everyone have fun with their coins now!

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Notices prompting you to invite your FarmVille neighbors are now appearing in fellow Zynga game, Cafe World. Cafe World is reaching out by asking you to invite your FarmVille neighbors to play Cafe World in an effort to expand the millions of users that already play Cafe World. [Thanks to FarmVille Freak kun4tor for the heads-up!]

This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.

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Happy Aquarium's release of the lost Baby Polar Bear last week was also accompanied by the launch of the new arctic themed demo tank. As you can see, the Polar Bear cubs featured there are now all grown up!

So how do you get these bears? Well, while the demo tanks are suppose to function as stores, it seems that clicking on the bears in the tank won't get you a "Buy" prompt. The bear cubs are currently an exclusive lost item, so you'll have to count on your friends to share their sightings on their Walls.

But a bright-eyed, ears-wiggling, baby Pink Polar Bear is available at the in-game store for 48 Facebook Credits or 58 Pearls. She's got a maturation rate of 72 hrs. and can be mated with the normal Polar Bear.
If the price of the bear is a bit steep, and you love animated items, I recommend checking out that snowy mountain ridge in the tank's background. The ski lifts actually climb the mountain! And it's way cheaper at 11 FB Credits or 13 Pearls.

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