Here you will find information about the virtual pets industry, highlighting how widespread of a phenomenon it is and the extent to which sites like Neopets have become a staple among grade school children. Additionally, information about the potential benefits such site offer can be found here.

  • Geck, Caroline. "The Generation Z Connections: Teaching Information Literacy to the Newest Net Generation." Teacher Librarian v.33, no.3 (2006): 19-23.]
    Supply students and classroom teacher with web page design technologies to deliver effective presentations by serving as experts in web page creation and then assisting students and teachers in gathering and organizing information for their web pages; helping teachers see the Internet not only as a source of content but as a communication and teaching tool; and demonstrating how web pages can be used as a platform to generate new knowledge and facilitate new learning connections. Create communities of learners or electronic learning modules by linking students’ web pages to a centralized main page so that students can access different class or peer web pages.
    ...
    Privacy and safety are a growing concern, particularly as companies aim at younger children. Some virtual worlds are now meant to appeal to preschoolers, using pictures to control actions so that reading is not required. And critics are sharpening their knives. "We cannot allow the media and marketing industries to construct a childhood...," said Susan Linn, a Boston psychologist and the director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a nonprofit group that has complained of ads for movies on Webkinz.com.
  • Brooks Barnes, "Web Playgrounds of the Very Young", New York Times, December 31, 2007
    Disney’s biggest online world is Club Penguin, which it bought in August from three Canadians in a deal worth $700 million. At the time, more than 700,000 members paid fees of $5.95 a month, delivering annual revenue of almost $50 million.

    Still, one world, even a very successful one, does not alter the financial landscape at a $35.5 billion company like Disney. So Disney is pursuing a portfolio approach, investing $5 million to $10 million per world to develop a string of as many as 10 virtual properties, people familiar with Disney’s plans said.

  • Site traffic info for Webkinz.com
    (currently about 6 million visitors per month, growth of about 366% this year)
  • Site traffic info for Neopets.com
    (currently about 3 million visitors per month, growth of about 15% this year)

Don't forfeit to Madison Avenue
"We cannot allow the media and marketing industries to construct a childhood"
-- New York Times

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Don't miss out on a window for academic achievement
While engrossed in commercially available virtual pet communities, children regularly gain "cash" by playing arcade style games. Our product will allow you to customize such games with actual material from your child's curriculum. In addition to arcade style games, we will focus on more cerebral and calming challenges, such as word searches and crossword puzzles. ...(more)