The Penguin Pack
Those too young for MySpace now have many choices for an online world of their own. Here are some virtual worlds for the 8-to-14-year-old set.
Club Penguin (www.clubpenguin.com)
Like Second Life, but your avatar is a chubby penguin.
Perk: Unlike many comparable sites, Club Penguin has absolutely no advertising.
Downside: In lieu of ads, the website charges fees. Anyone can play free of charge, but for $5.95 a month (or less, if you buy packages of six months or a year) kids get to buy their penguin clothes and igloo furniture from monthly digital catalogs. Penguins with more clothing and more furniture are more popular in the virtual world.
Webkinz (www.webkinz.com)
Beanie Babies with an online twist: Plush Webkinz toys ($9.95) come with codes that, typed online, open a virtual world where kids can play games, send friends postcards, and meet up in rooms.
Perk: Kids love features like daily updates and the Employment Office, where they can get pretend jobs. Like Club Penguin, Webkinz has no advertising.
Downside: Jobs, daily updates, and the pets' constant demand for food encourage more time spent online–just 20 minutes a day, the site says, but parents still might find that too much. Plus, the chat is tightly limited: Players can speak only in preselected phrases.
Nicktropolis (www.nicktropolis.com)
In Nickelodeon's virtual world, launched last month, kids' avatars look like real kids–or, in some rooms, like characters from Nick shows like SpongeBob SquarePants.
Perk: You can watch Nick shows in the Rec Center or buy a virtual television and watch shows with your friends. Membership is free.
Downside: Games, which are simple, might not be worth the branding tsunami; ads for Nick shows flood the space, and more marketers' brands are on the way, according to Steve Youngwood, Nickelodeon's executive vice president for digital media.
Whyville (www.whyville.net)
Citizens play games, get jobs, participate in government, and even help write the Whyville Times (recent stories include "Dancing, More Than Tutus" and "The Do's and Don'ts of Petitions").
Perk: Built in 1999 by Cal Tech scientists, the site can be educational: In 2002, developers organized a "Whypox" epidemic to teach kids about epidemiology. In December, it partnered with a telescope maker to launch a virtual planetarium.
Downside: Since it's been around a while, Whyville's graphics could use an upgrade. The site could probably afford one, too; sponsors can integrate products into the fantasy world (automaker Toyota helped Whyvillians buy virtual Scions last summer; when Disney paid to market The Little Mermaid, kids could attach mermaid tails to their avatar's body) or hire Whyville to do customized market research.