The Angry Birds are set to fly from the virtual into the real world next year as the cartoonish birds from the popular smartphone game get their own theme parks, a playground company said.

“The idea is to create a different concept for gaming by integrating the virtual and physical worlds so parents can spend more time with their kids,” Finnish playground maker Lappset’s managing director Juha Laakkonen said.

Lappset and the developer of the game, Rovio, have agreed to build the first Angry Birds-themed play parks in Espoo, near Helsinki, and in the northern Finnish city of Rovaniemi, which are expected to be operational in April 2012.

But the goal is to bring the activity parks to other venues worldwide, Laakkonen said.