AFP - Social games publisher Zynga said Wednesday that it has raised 180 million dollars in funding from Russian Internet company Digital Sky Technologies (DST) and other investors.

Zynga, the creator of the popular online games "Mafia Wars" and "FarmVille," said the majority of the new funding is from DST, which invested 200 million dollars in Facebook in May.

Other investors include Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm started by Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of pioneering Web browser company Netscape, and New York-based fund Tiger Global, it said.

The San Francisco-based Zynga, whose games are available on Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites, said Institutional Ventures Partners, a current investor, had increased its position in the company.

"Social games are enabling millions of people around the world to connect and play together everyday," Zynga founder and chief executive Mark Pincus said.

"The investment from DST allows us to continue delivering on the promise of social games for consumers, making fun the biggest way for people to interact," he said.

"We share in Zynga's mission of connecting people through games and believe they are in a solid position with their team, offerings and market share to succeed in a dramatic way," DST chief executive Yuri Milner said.

"Our earlier investment in Facebook and now in Zynga underscores our premise that social networking and social entertainment will define the next generation of the Web," Milner added.

According to Zynga, there are more than 230 million monthly active users of its games, which include "Cafe World," "Zynga Poker," "YoVille," "FishVille" and "PetVille" in addition to "Mafia Wars" and "FarmVille."

The purchase of virtual goods by game players accounts for 90 percent of Zynga's revenue, according to the company, which was founded in 2007.

No valuation for Zynga was given following the new infusion of cash but the website Mashable estimated its worth at between 1.3 and 1.5 billion dollars.

Another social games developer, Playfish, maker of "Pet Society," "Country Story," "Restaurant City," and other games, was acquired last month by US videogame publisher Electronic Arts in a deal that could be worth up to 400 million dollars.

Privately held DST, which is based in Moscow and London, holds significant interests in Web companies in Russia and Eastern Europe.