Seattle, WA (AHN) - RealNetworks will spin off its casual gaming unit into a separate business by the end of 2008. The operator of the Rhapsody online music service and RealPlayer software said shareholders will receive shares of the new company.

RealNetworks CEO and chairman Rob Glaser said the business is "an incredible entrepreneurial success story," according to the New York Times.

The unit, launched in 2001, focuses on a sector of gaming offering puzzles and other less-violent alternatives.