Most social games have perks for those at the top of the leaderboard, but USA Network may be unique in making one of those perks be the opportunity to become a murder victim. But it does suit a game based on "Psych," USA Network’s drama starring two detectives known for their quirks and quips. The "Psych" game "#HashTagKiller" (HTK) went live today in a seven-week game leading up to the show’s Oct. 12 season premiere.

Renren Inc., one of China's top social networking platforms, announced Monday that it is acquiring user generated video site 56.com for about $80 million in cash. The deal is expected to complete before the end of the year. Juan Zhou, co-founder and chief executive officer of 56.com, will join Renren's management team as vice president.

Rovio Entertainment, in cooperation with leading Singapore telco Singtel, worked with Uplause Ltd. to engage 50,000 Formula 1 Grand Prix fans as live controllers in a gigantic game of 'Angry Birds' on Sunday. The event was the first in an ongoing partnership between Rovio and Uplause that will audiences into the joystick at large events around the world. Peter Vesterbacka, Mighty Eagle and chief marketing officer of Rovio, said, “We think this new form of gaming will give fans a great opportunity to form a strong emotional connection with the characters.”

On a day when President Obama’s visit paralyzed much of Hollywood’s traffic, Facebook has filed the paperwork to form its own political action committee. Reports also surfaced Monday that Facebook had registered the domain names FBPAC.org and FBPAC.us. The social media giant has had a voice in Washington D.C. for the past few years, but this is the first time it will be able to support specific candidates through direct financial donations. Facebook spent $207,878 on lobbying activities in 2009, $351,390 in 2010, and $550,000 in the first half of 2011, records show.

Spotify has warmly embraced its Facebook integration, changing its new user registration to require logging in with a Facebook account. Anyone who wants to join Spotify from now on will have to have a Facebook account to do so. Existing Spotify members will not be affected by the new rules, but even so a very vocal minority is complaining about the move and angry about the deeper implications of Facebook keeping tabs on their listening habits.

Now we know what Nexon was building up to when it shared the human interest factoid that 75 percent of "MapleStory" marriages end in annulment. The company announced "Ascension," an update and expansion that includes a complete revamp of the free-to-play game’s wedding system and new features to make staying married more attractive. Nexon also said that "MapleStory Adventures," a Facebook iteration of the game, has already exceeded 3 million registered players since its Jun 16. debut. In addition, it closed the beta test of "Wonder Cruise," Nexon’s second Facebook game, in preparation for its launch late this month.

Apparently you can’t keep a good hoax down. Once again, spammers and well-meaning users are spreading the falsehood that Facebook intends to start charging. This time the claim is that the social networking giant is going to start selling three different levels of paid service. These rumors circulate every time Facebook makes a significant change, and sophisticated users will recognize some giveaway clues in the wording and instructions. But as everyone knows who does tech support for their extended family, many Facebook users aren’t wise in the ways of the Internet.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today formally released its new Facebook game "The Big Bang Theory: Mystic Warlords of Ka’a," which has been in beta since July 27. The timing is not accidental. Warner Bros. Television's hit comedy returns to the screen tonight on CBS in back-to-back episodes kicking off its fifth season, having recently started to air five nights a week in off-network syndication.

Mountain View, Calif. - Following 12 weeks of field trials, search giant Google said it has opened its Google+ social network to the general public, which no longer needs an invitation to join. "We're nowhere near done, but with the improvements we've made so far we're ready to move from field trial to beta," wrote Vic Gundotra, the company's senior vice president of engineering, in a blog post.