Popular virtual worlds for tweens and teens

Virtual worlds for tweens

If your child has outgrown Club Penguin and Webkinz, consider some of these popular virtual worlds suited for tweens. You should always check out a virtual world website before letting your child participate and use parental controls if available and necessary.

Ty Girlz -- Geared toward tween and teen girls, this virtual world site is unlocked with the purchase of a Ty Girlz doll. Inside Ty Girlz, your daughter will find cool apartments, clothes, makeovers and games.

Wizard101 -- Kids who love Harry Potter adore Wizard101. This massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) allows players to start as a novice wizard and then accept quests, collect gold and gain equipment as they aim to save the Spiral.

Stardoll -- Based on the concept of paper dolls, Stardoll is a virtual world where players dress up dolls, participate in games, create clubs, socialize with friends and more. This popular virtual world website features over 124 million users.

SecretBuilders -- Players immerse themselves in virtual lands, undertake quests, maintain a home, play games and interact with friends. SecretBuilders features stories, themes and characters (both historical and fictional figures) from literature, art and the humanities.

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Virtual worlds for teens

Kids don't outgrow virtual worlds when they hit their teenage years. Many virtual worlds are geared toward the teenage set and they are gaining popularity every day.

Habbo Hotel -- Aimed at teenagers, Habbo Hotel allows user to create their own avatar, design their hotel room, join special clubs, purchase merchandise and more. Users use two types of currency -- pixels (which are free) and credits (which need to be purchased with real money).

RuneScape -- RuneScape is another MMORPG. The world is a medieval fantasy realm where players travel through different kingdoms and cities. Users create customizable avatars, fight monsters, complete quests, play games, chat and trade with others, and much more. Both free and premium memberships are available.

Whyville -- One of the older virtual worlds, Whyville features avatars that are just floating heads. This free site incorporates educational content over a wide range of topics along with the games. Geared toward teens and tweens, Whyville has an active player base of over 5 million users.

SuperSecret -- In SuperSecret, players start at age 10 and grow up to age 18 by achieving things in a variety of games. As users get older within the games, they get more privileges -- at 16 they can drive a virtual car, at 18 they can vote, etc.

Hundreds of other virtual worlds are available. Other popular choices among teens and tweens include ActiveWorlds, Chit Chat City, Fantage, IMVU, Kaneva, Second Life, SmallWorlds and World of Warcraft.

Read about online games for teens >>

Currency in virtual worlds

Many virtual worlds allow players to purchase in-game currency and merchandise with real world money. For parents who are worried about using their credit cards in virtual worlds, now they have an alternative -- Openbucks.

Launched in September 2011, Openbucks allows you to purchase gift cards at one of more than 100,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada, and then use those gift cards as payment for online games and at ecommerce websites. It's a simple, safe method to pay online. According to Itamar Kandel, president and co-founder of Openbucks, "Virtual goods purchases are projected to reach $10 billion by 2013 so we believe the gaming market is a great place to start."

For parents looking to limit the spending of their teens and tweens, Openbucks seems like a fabulous option.

Image credit: stardoll

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