*Source: News.com (
http://www.news.com/Are-kids-ready-f...ag=nefd.lede)*
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Virtual worlds for kids are enjoying a growth spurt in interest and advertising. But that begs the question: are kids ready for such a grown-up reality online?
At a recent conference on virtual worlds (
http://www.news.com/When-the-PC-beco...3-6212826.html) in San Jose, Calif., executives from some of the industry's biggest sites touted growing audiences of kids, who spend hours a month playing games and socializing. Some of those communities boasted of successful experiments with marketing. For example, preteens are driving virtual Toyota Scions on sites such as Whyville.net and Gaia Online, and they're wearing the latest digital fashions from DKNY at Stardoll.com (
http://www.news.com/1606-2-6088766.html). Nickelodeon also talked about coming plans to run "immersive" ads in its 3D environment for kids ages 7 to 14.
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