Unless you have been shipped off to a remote island for the past six months you have at least heard about Webkinz World. Webkinz, and their online community, Webkinz World, have taken the nation by storm.

The Webkinz World, located at www.webkinz.com, is a Web site where children and their webkinz virtual pet can join and interact with other children and their pets. However, to gain access to Webkinz World you must purchase or “adopt” a webkinz virtual petand enter the “secret code” that comes with the animal.

Webkinz World is a safe, fun and educational online environment where children can interact. Your child is not required to give any personal information during the Webkinz adoption and account creation. The only information that is required is the secret code that comes with the webkinz virtual pet. Your child’s name, address, and all other personal information will never be known.

Children chatting on line is a grave concern to most parents. Webkinz World is designed so that children can “chat” on Webkinz World but they are not actually typing messages. They can only choose from predefined messages compiled by the website. This safeguards against any predators sending inappropriate messages to your child.

Most of the activities on Webkinz Worldare educational. One of the main features of Webkinz World is Quizzy’s. Quizzy’s is a trivia game comprised of age appropriate and educationally oriented questions. But, one of the main themes taught by Webkinz World is how to handle money. Most of the activities and features in Webkinz World deal with Kinz Cash. Kinz Cash is the “money” used in Webkinz World to buy food or go shopping at the W Shop. Kinz Cash is earned by playing games in Webkinz World.

It seems that Webkinz World is becoming somewhat of a compromise for worried parents and anxious children. Webkinz World provides a fun and safe, yet educational, environment for children to interact.