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    Sunday, January 29th, 2012
    12:33 pm
    Neopets - Fun Websites for children
    Neopets is really a social media massively multi-player online game (MMOG) virtual pet website that was created in 1997 and launched in November 1999 by an independent web design service along with a marketing specialist. Viacom currently owns the web site in colaboration with Nickelodeon. The web site is targeted at children from age 6 to 16. The building blocks of the site is the member's capability to adopt and look after a virtual pet. Pets could be cute and cuddly non-threatening animated animals or obscure-looking aliens and monsters.

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    Features

    Neopets is set in the fantasy realm of Neopia, which has its very own time zone, calendar and currency called the Neopoint. Members will soon realize that earning money may be the main focus from the game, and that's why the earth has its own stock exchange. New members of Neopets adopt a virtual pet to start the game. Users can adopt and take care of multiple pets - however only one pet qualifies the user to accumulate Neopoints. Users look after their pets by solving puzzles and doing offers. Games allow players to earn Neopoints. In order to properly care for their pets, players purchase them food, clothing, shelter and household items. If a player doesn't properly take care of their pet, it doesn't die - it really falls ill.

    What's Good

    Neopets is a fairly innocent-looking website that will appeal mainly to women age 8 and up who're thinking about nurturing and making new friends. Most of the pets that players adopt are non-threatening. The majority of the facial expressions are kind and friendly. You will find simply no adult themes hanging around or on the website. There isn't any drinking, smoking, drug use, sex or offensive language. The only real violence that may occur happens when pets are involved in Battledome; but even here there isn't any blood or gore - only sparring. Neopets offers children the opportunity to take care of and nurture an online pet. Children will learn the basics of the items it takes to become responsible - not just with a pet, but with money.

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    What's Bad

    The high level of advertising on Neopets is cause for a lot of concern. It is clear that the marketing expert was in around the design of this site. Hiding a dollar sign behind cutesy images targeted at children is low. Causing children to become massively addicted to consumerism in times when the opposite should be the case implies that the need for money is more important than a social conscious. It doesn't even look at the manufactured goods children could be swayed into buying on the website's shopping mall. Parents need to have a lock on their own wallets and purses.

    Online Safety

    Neopets has been doing an above-average job of promoting online safety. Although the site collects personal data, it discourages unacceptable behavior and silences those users who have broken the terms and conditions of membership. Moderators known as The Neopets Team (TNT) are active and plentiful online, forums and chat. The website requires the parents of children age 13 and also over who would like to participate in forums to fax in a signed consent form.
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