Pop star spices up Zynga game

The San Francisco company filed registration papers in July for an IPO, and it is expected to make its public debut this fall.

Iglesias said his team approached Zynga with the idea for a game integration and was involved from the beginning on the design and deciding what characters could do. They can collect virtual hats, boots, bling, and a speed boat - representing the time Iglesias lived in Miami and owned one.

“I thought the fans would get a kick out of it,’’ he said.

“CityVille,’’ which is available on Facebook and the fledgling Google Plus, lets players build up and run virtual cities, complete with farms, buildings, and all sorts of infrastructure one would find in a real city.

The game is free to play; Zynga makes money by charging for virtual items players use to decorate their cities and to get ahead in the game. The Iglesias tie-in will be available only on the Facebook version of the game.

Iglesias said he has played “CityVille’’ - once. He has an addictive personality and, since being inseparable from Nintendo’s “Mario Bros.’’ as a child, has stayed away from video games, he said.

“I know that if I start playing it, I won’t get any work done and I’d just be on it all the time,’’ he said.

“CityVille’’ has more than 71 million monthly users, compared with more than 62 million for “The Sims Social.’’