Trusted Opinion (www.trustedopinion.com), a social recommendations network, is launching a unique twist to rating and reviewing restaurants by creating a competitive experience that rewards members with local-area expertise. Gaming elements such as coins, gifts, and badges are delivering higher community participation, interaction, and engagement.

Users now work toward the ultimate goal of becoming the top “Guru” in their area. The new Guru leader-board is region-specific, highlighting members who have received the most “Respect” for their local reviews. The Guru status becomes harder to achieve as regions become more popular and people risk losing their status.

The newly introduced coins and gifts are key parts to the Guru game. Members earn coins for high value activities and can also purchase coins through an online payment system to accelerate their status on the site. Coins are the primary way for members to engage with each other, using them to purchase virtual gifts and give “Respect” points for great content.

This fun and interactive experience engages casual visitors and helps to convert them into engaged, active members who return often — for recommendations from friends and trusted experts, as well as the social interaction.

“While casual users might visit Trusted Opinion to find a new restaurant or review the movie they saw last night, our social elements encourage them to stay on the site and interact,” said Todd Greene, CEO of Trusted Opinion. “These new features are part of our overall strategy to deliver a ratings and recommendations site that engages many types of visitors with fun social experiences and games.”

While other recommendation sites are used purely as information resources, Trusted Opinion is quickly becoming a social destination for its users. In addition to the social games, users can link to their friends, share opinions, and earn “Respect Points” for quality reviews.

Trusted Opinion is the widest-reaching service of its kind with support for 43 languages and over one million registered members from more than 100 countries. Its international restaurant review service now encompasses over 1.5 million reviewed restaurants, bars and cafes across Europe, Asia, and North America.