Canada and Latvia cheer as Monopoly goes global

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - The game of "Monopoly" has come a long way from its humble origins in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the latest version of the popular board game also might test players' geography skills.

After an online vote conducted earlier this year, Hasbro, Inc announced that the most expensive properties on the new "Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition," game board will be represented by Montreal and Latvia's capital, Riga.

The game's most expensive properties are normally Boardwalk and Park Place in the prestigious blue property group of the Parker Brothers' version that was patented by Charles Darrow in 1935.

More than 5.6 million votes were cast for 70 cities worldwide to determine which 22 would be featured in the new game.

"The classic version of the game has been around for over 70 years and it will still exist for many, many more," said Helen Martin, vice president of global marketing for Monopoly at Hasbro.

"It's a way to take a trip around the world and experience some of the cities that they'd love to visit as a family. Where else could you buy Sydney and London and maybe even trade it to own New York?" she said.

In the game, players vie to get rich by acquiring, renting and trading properties and cash. Hasbro estimates it has been played by some 750 million people worldwide, with versions in 37 different languages available in 50 countries.

The 22 cities that earned spots on the board are: Montreal, Riga (dark blue property group); Cape Town, Belgrade, Paris (green); Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Beijing (yellow); London, New York, Sydney (red); Vancouver, Shanghai, Rome (orange); Toronto, Kiev, Istanbul (magenta); Athens, Barcelona, Tokyo (light blue), and Taipei and Gdynia, Poland (brown).

The new edition of the board game will be available in stores later this month. A digital version of the game, available for download on mobile phones or online, will be available in early September.

(Reporting by Gary Crosse; Editing by Michelle Nichols and Bill Trott)