Virtual worlds for kids take off

Social networking sites for children are growing fast - and they are attracting attention from big media companies and concerned adults, says Matthew Wall.

Webkinz has built its position by creating an online world for its real-world toys and making it compelling. Photograph: Tina Fineberg/AP

When dancing penguins are sold to Disney in a deal worth up to $700m (£345m), you know that websites aimed at kids are a serious internet phenomenon.

The corporate giant last week acquired Club Penguin, a virtual world aimed at children aged between six and 14. With a claimed 700,000-plus young subscribers paying $57.95 (£28) for a 12-month subscription, it's clear that social networking for the young is likely to be just as big - and as lucrative - as websites such as Facebook and MySpace.

Club Penguin is by no means the only place for children to interact online. Among the latest crazes is Webkinz, a website that lets young children bring their real-world fluffy toys to life online within a virtual world.

Webkinz, developed by privately owned Canadian toy and gift company Ganz, is a range of soft toys aimed at children between the ages of six and 13. Each toy comes with a code that can be entered into the website to create an animated virtual version of it.

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