Spore, Electronic Arts' (ERTS) long-anticipated God game that arrives in September, could be a big hit for EA. In the meantime, it's getting a lot of play in Silicon Valley, where some nerd tycoons like Digg's Kevin Rose and Craiglist's Craig Newmark have been tapped to create their own "creatures" for the game. Users will vote on the best one; the winner gets $15,000 for charity.

The species below were created by the Spore Creature Creator, a $10 app that EA released in mid-June. The goal: To build excitement for the game by letting people create their avatars ahead of time. So far, it's working: 1.5 million creatures have been created in just a few weeks. And it's already created a (gross) Internet meme -- 'Sporn', or Spore creatures shaped like genitalia (probably not safe for work).

Kevin Rose, co-founder, Digg	SporeKevinRose.jpg: Paste this image in your site, Myspace, Facebook, Ebay copy this code... <a href="http://www.weeklybits.com/kevin-rose-2c-mark-cuban-2c-craig-newmark-get-makeovers-for-ea-27s-spore_article_8_12256.html"><img src="http://static.10gen.com/www.alleyinsider.com/~~/f?id=486c82a7796c7a1b005a13d7&maxX=202&maxY=181" border="0" alt="SporeKevinRose.jpg en Tech WeBlogs WEEKLYBITS.COM"></a>
Jay Adelson, co-founder, Digg	SporeJayAdelson.jpg: Paste this image in your site, Myspace, Facebook, Ebay copy this code... <a href="http://www.weeklybits.com/kevin-rose-2c-mark-cuban-2c-craig-newmark-get-makeovers-for-ea-27s-spore_article_8_12256.html"><img src="http://static.10gen.com/www.alleyinsider.com/~~/f?id=486c832c796c7a1b005a13fb" border="0" alt="SporeJayAdelson.jpg en Tech WeBlogs WEEKLYBITS.COM"></a>
Craig Newmark, founder, Craigslist	SporeCraigNewmark.jpg: Paste this image in your site, Myspace, Facebook, Ebay copy this code... <a href="http://www.weeklybits.com/kevin-rose-2c-mark-cuban-2c-craig-newmark-get-makeovers-for-ea-27s-spore_article_8_12256.html"><img src="http://static.10gen.com/www.alleyinsider.com/~~/f?id=486c8386796c7a1b005a1413" border="0" alt="SporeCraigNewmark.jpg en Tech WeBlogs WEEKLYBITS.COM"></a>
Mark Cuban, owner, Dallas Mavericks	SporeMarkCuban.jpg: Paste this image in your site, Myspace, Facebook, Ebay copy this code... <a href="http://www.weeklybits.com/kevin-rose-2c-mark-cuban-2c-craig-newmark-get-makeovers-for-ea-27s-spore_article_8_12256.html"><img src="http://static.10gen.com/www.alleyinsider.com/~~/f?id=486c8392796c7a1b005a1416" border="0" alt="SporeMarkCuban.jpg en Tech WeBlogs WEEKLYBITS.COM"></a>
Justine Ezarik, Internet video star	SporeJustineEzarik.jpg: Paste this image in your site, Myspace, Facebook, Ebay copy this code... <a href="http://www.weeklybits.com/kevin-rose-2c-mark-cuban-2c-craig-newmark-get-makeovers-for-ea-27s-spore_article_8_12256.html"><img src="http://static.10gen.com/www.alleyinsider.com/~~/f?id=486c839c796c7a1b005a141a" border="0" alt="SporeJustineEzarik.jpg en Tech WeBlogs WEEKLYBITS.COM"></a>
Mike Arrington, founder, TechCrunch	SporeMichaelArrington.jpg: Paste this image in your site, Myspace, Facebook, Ebay copy this code... <a href="http://www.weeklybits.com/kevin-rose-2c-mark-cuban-2c-craig-newmark-get-makeovers-for-ea-27s-spore_article_8_12256.html"><img src="http://static.10gen.com/www.alleyinsider.com/~~/f?id=486c83a2796c7a1b005a141d" border="0" alt="SporeMichaelArrington.jpg en Tech WeBlogs WEEKLYBITS.COM"></a>
Robert Scoble, blogger	SporeRobertScoble.jpg: Paste this image in your site, Myspace, Facebook, Ebay copy this code... <a href="http://www.weeklybits.com/kevin-rose-2c-mark-cuban-2c-craig-newmark-get-makeovers-for-ea-27s-spore_article_8_12256.html"><img src="http://static.10gen.com/www.alleyinsider.com/~~/f?id=486c83a8796c7a1b005a1420" border="0" alt="SporeRobertScoble.jpg en Tech WeBlogs WEEKLYBITS.COM"></a>