Companies Look to Virtual Worlds for Eyeballs, Money

April 7, 2008 — -- Did you grow up watching Saturday morning cartoons on TV? Don't be surprised to learn that the online world may soon replace morning television in your kids' lives.

Children don't just watch; they interact, says Deborah Manchester, president of PBS's "Zula, USA."

"They'll look at a television show in a small portion of their screen," she explains, "and then in another portion, they're playing a game, or they're chatting with their friends. … That's what the Web offers that television doesn't."

Manchester spoke last week at the second annual Virtual Worlds Conference in New York, where dozens of companies met to explore ways to extend their brands from the real world to the virtual world, creating an online experience that will draw and keep kids' attention.

Companies such as Nickelodeon and Disney, ABC's parent company, are already in the virtual worlds business with kid-popular sites like Neopets and Club Penguin.

Mattel announced that its Barbie Girls virtual world is shifting to a paid subscription model. Since its launch a year ago, BarbieGirls.com has registered 11.2 million girls worldwide. Mattel's Chuck Scothon says when the new site launches in May, girls will still be able to access the free site, but the subscription site (no pricing announced as of yet) will offer updated game play, new content monthly and something Mattel calls the "Three E's; Educate, Empower and Engage."

Since virtual worlds are still sometimes a scary place for moms to let their children roam free, Mattel has designed a parent's place on the site, complete with user tools and content, focused on making sure moms and dads are comfortable. The company wants to make sure parents are in control of their daughter's online experience, Scothon says.

Virtual worlds like Barbie, Webkinz and Club Penguin are often where younger kids have their first online experiences, before they "graduate" onto older-oriented sites like MySpace.

Barbie Girls wants to be a place where families come together to set some Internet ground rules, Mattel's Scothon says.