Walt Disney said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire Playdom for $563.2 million, as the media giant aims to take a leading role in the fast-growing market for social games.

Playdom builds games that run on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. It has an estimated 42 million active players each month for games such as 'Mobsters' and 'Social City'.

The deal, which is expected to close by the end of Disney's 2010 fiscal year.

'This acquisition furthers our strategy of allocating capital to high-growth businesses that can benefit from our many characters, stories and brands,' Disney chief executive Bob Iger said in a statement.

Playdom, which has 15 game development studios, will remain headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Playdom chief executive John Pleasants, a veteran of game publisher Electronic Arts, will become an executive vice president of the Disney Interactive Media Group and general manager of Playdom.-Reuters