Kid's virtual worlds

My daughter has been saving her allowance up for (apparently) the latest fad, Webkinz. Webkinz are basically stuffed animals that you come with a code that allows you to adopt them online and play with them in a virtual world. The virtual world is full of all types of games and virtual accessories that you can buy for your pet with kinzcash, which can be earned by taking quizzes, playing games and I'm guessing can be exchanged for real cash.  Kids can also play meet friends pets online and have them play together in a vitual world.

A lot of attention is being paid to Second Life, and a lot of companies are setting up virtual environments. It only took Webkinz half the time to get the same number of registered users. Other toys are getting into the game as well. Classic toys like Barbie and Hot Wheels are revamping their websites to be more than places to advertisements, creating their own virtual worlds.

Makes me wonder if virtual worlds to our kids will be as common as a touch tone telephone is to us. How does this (or does it) affect the way they'll live as adults? - Paul Herring

Comments

[Roger von Oech]

Hi Cam,

Thanks for the heads up. Looks like an intriguing concept.