CANNES (France): Cyber playgrounds for digitally-savvy kids look set to be the cool new space after global broadcasting giant, the BBC, unveiled its children’s online virtual world at the MIPCOM audiovisual trade show taking place in southern France.

Children “don’t want passive viewing experiences any more,” Marc Goodchild, who heads the BBC’s Children’s Interactive and On-Demand, told a MIPCOM conference. “They want to recreate their playground experiences at home.” The BBC’s “Adventure Rock” is the newest virtual kid-on-the-block, joining family entertainment giant Disney’s “Club Penguin,” Nickelodeon’s “Neopets,”Stardol.com and others.

But new digital entertainment spaces need to be safe, secure environments so there will be no chat rooms for the 9 to 12-year-olds targeted. “As a public broadcaster, it’s paramount to make sure children are as safe as possible,” Goodchild said.

The BBC’s new interactive CBBC service will also be free, without any of the paying “add-on” features found in adult virtual worlds such as “Second Life,” which pioneered the new online virtual universes where users can create cyber-clones or “avatars” of themselves.—AFP