Come on down to 2010

“The Price Is Right” host Drew Carey isn’t playing around when it comes to keeping TV’s longest-running game show current.

Carey has eagerly welcomed iPhone, Xbox, Wii and other adaptations of the venerable game show – and wants to see more, such as a Facebook game set for a June debut.

“I love it. I don’t think they’re doing as much as they should be doing,” he says.

“Businesswise, you should take advantage of every media stream you can. I want to be part of a gig that’s doing new things and trying stuff.”

Carey himself is a relatively recent addition: He joined the show in October 2007 after the retirement of Bob Barker, the CBS daytime show’s host since its 1972 debut. (The original “Price” started on NBC in 1956.)

Although Carey has put his comedic stamp on the show and welcomes the high-tech extras, he says it remains true to itself. Contestants still jockey to “come on down” to the stage and compete for prizes by guessing their retail value.

“I look at it as owning a house. Any homeowner can relate: You’re never, ever done with your house,” Carey says.

“New rug, new bathroom tile, but it’s still the same house. It’s still the same game.”

Ratings are on the rise. “Price” is up 10 percent in viewers over last year and ranks among the top five daytime programs.

Despite the change in hosts and some alterations in the set, it retains an air of comfortable familiarity, says executive producer Mike Richards.

“That’s the best thing I can hear: This is “The Price Is Right” I grew up watching with my grandma,’ ” he says.

The birthday bunch

Announcer Gary Owens (“Laugh-In”) is 71. Singer Donovan is 64. Singer Dave Mason is 64. Singer Bono (U2) is 50. Model Linda Evangelista is 45. Rapper Young MC is 43. Actor Erik Palladino is 42. Actor Kenan Thompson is 32.