Webkinz has quietly become the leader in kids online virtual worlds. The Webkinz world is billed as a fun, safe, and educational online world. Kids can play games, learn, explore, care for their Webkinz pet, build their own home, interact with their friends, and more. The in game chat uses pre-created questions and answers so no personal information can be shared making it very safe. New things are constantly being added. Parents can manage their childs time and activities. The game is intended for kids between the age of 6 and 13. You have to buy a new stuffed animal each year to extend the gameplay for another year.

You can watch a video of some Webkinz games and gameplay here:

Www.Webkinz.com - For more funny videos, click here

This looks pretty cool, safe, and educational. As soon as my son turns six we are joining WebKinz (but only as a reward with time limits).

Fallout 3 will be released on October 28th. If you have no idea about the previous installments of the game then you have been missing out. The game is set in the aftermath of an American nuclear war. It looks to be pretty good but I am a little nervous that the game is under new management of Bethesda Softworks.

Check out this video of the game play in Fallout 3:

This video is kind of boring and the narrator sounds like a clean shaven kid. But I like the character customization and that you can blow up anything you want.

This video is funnier. He cloaks himself and puts a hand grenade onto some random guy:

I don’t like how slow the gameplay seems. It would take you forever to get through the whole thing. It should be available on xbox, ps3, and pc.

There.com Means Business and here is the Video to Prove it.

There.com has come out with some recent improvements including the ThereIM messenger, a Facebook application called ThereConnect, compatability with the Mac, and support for Japanese and German.

Wow the other big players better get with it and watch out for this silent underdog ready for a virtual fight.

Check out this short video of There.com gameplay and improvements:

It looks like There.com is making a major move.

Download the MMOG Ryzom for free and check out the below videos:

There are a limited number of free test accounts available for the Ryzom MMORPG. The game includes a MMO scenario editor. This allows you to create your own quests, puzzles, and traps. the Ryzom MMORPG allows you to customize an avatar from the 4 Atys races. You gain experience by fighting, creating magic and crafts, foraging, and more. Player combat includes Duels, PvP, FvF, GvG, and more but is optional. Ryzom is currently available in German, French, and English.

Check out these cool Saga of Ryzom videos

:

Ryzom Teaser 10 from Ryzom on Vimeo.

and

Ryzom Teaser 9 from Ryzom on Vimeo.

Find out more about Ryzom.

A smart decision by Fox to create Buffy the Vampire Slayer MMORPG

Twentieth Century Fox announced that they will be creating a MMOG for Buffy the Vampire Slayer instead of based around Firefly. I think this is a good decision based on the recent popularity and lack of competition. A 2d flash based game will be created as well as a 3d virtual world. The Multiverse Buffy the Vampire Slayer world will be released latter in the year. This should be pretty cool. Read more in the press release.

Multiverse Places is a new social network application that works with virtual worlds. The Multiverse Network also includes a new virtual world based on Manhattan Times Square. You will need the Multiverse’s World Browser to run it (too bad it does not run in the web browser). This type of innovation connects the 2d and 3d world and the internet and virtual world game experience better than ever. This is of course an open source virtual world putting the power in the hand of game developers and programmers. There is rumor that a Titanic game will be built with the Places virtual world social networking platform.

Check out this short Places YouTube Video:

It looks pretty cool and a lot like Second Life but with a more organized feel. You can see the ability to customize your Places Avatar and your living space. The interface seems pretty good. I really like the profile features and interoperability with other existing social networks. The in world music and video capabilities seem pretty good as well with YouTube videos being specifically demonstrated.

All in all Multiverse Places seems pretty good. So good in fact that it may take a place among the Top Online Virtual World Games.

photo credit: robinmochi

Global Kids’ has developed some online virtual world curriculum for students. The Virtual Worlds Expo will feature a presentation by director Barry Joseph on the online curriculum. This is a great way for educators to include virtual worlds such as Second Life into the classroom. The curriculum contains over one hundred and sixty lesson plans and is available at RezEd.org. Global Kids began developing the lesson plans after research in the year 2006 in Teen Second Life.