Another sign of the enthusiasm for virtual worlds: the BBC, the UK's public service broadcaster, is to create an online 3D environment for kids. Visitors to its CBBC website, designed for 7-12 year-olds, will be able to choose among their favorite TV cartoon characters in making an avatar, an online alter ego. This is not to be confused with the ageplay areas of Second Life, the Benchmark-backed virtual economy, where perverts or sex chat workers merely pretend to be 7-12 year-old kids.

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