The category for best website for kids had two great winners – Ziggity Zoom and Disney Digital Books. Take a look here to find out more about them.

In the category for best virtual world for kids, Webkinz World beat some very tough competition to claim the prize. Go here to learn more.

A very big well done to all of this years’ winners!

• Knee Bouncers
• PBS Kids
• Dreambox
• Disney Digital Books
• Ziggity Zoom

But wait there’s more! About.com are also giving another award for the best virtual world. The list of contenders are as follows:

• The Travels of Wiglington and Wenks
• Webkinz World
• Chobots
• Club Penguin
• Webosaurs

Here’s what’s super-interesting. Take a look at the amount of votes cast for each category, or just keep reading this if you’re lazy. At present time of writing, there’s been nearly three hundred votes for favorite kids website, but there are nearly three thousand votes cast for favorite virtual world.

That’s a serious difference, and one I’d love to know the reason behind.

Could it be that the level of competition between virtual worlds is stronger? Are virtual world fans more passionate about their favorite? Or are virtual worlds simply becoming much more popular across a rapidly growing audience? What do you think? Share your thoughts!

What’s most intriguing about this years conference is the new perspective many experts are beginning to have when it comes to keeping kids safe online. The danger of online predators are being dialed down, but while this obviously still remains a pressing concern, research by the Internet Safety Technical Task Force indicates that a more immediate problem lies with children encountering peer-to-peer bullying and self-destructive online behaviors.

Instead of increasing the fear factor for children staying safe online, conference speakers, including CNET safety blogger, Larry Magid will be placing an emphasis on media literacy and digital citizenship, encouraging kids to be positive internet users.

The two-day conference will also feature a range of workshops and sessions on subjects such as playing online games responsibly and how to use mobile devices safely. Find out more about how to register for the event, here.

I know, it’s been a long time for me too. It didn’t end there though did it? The poke gave way to the super-poke, which begot the pillow fight before mellowing into a hatching egg. By this point most of us got wise to the semi-sneaky ways of the Facebook ap; namely, if you send the virtual item de jour to every living person you know you’ll be rewarded with even more virtual items, presumably for you to hand down to future generations.

Still, even though we’ve been there and done that before, the new wave of older users all the social media trend setters have been talking about; the grandma’s and great uncles of the world, caught onto Facebook and the cycle started over again. The trouble is, it’s one thing to click the ignore button on the stuff that intern who used to work for you sends (be honest, you didn’t really want to add her on FB anyway) but, damn it, if Great Auntie Ethel challenges you to a state capitals quiz or needs you to know what Beatle you’re most like, you kind of feel obliged. What I’m saying is, there’s always a handful of announcements to let you know some irritating distant acquaintance has unlocked, powered-up, or generally felt the need to notify you of their interactive activities.

Thanks to FarmVille, I have become that irritating person.

FarmVille, in a word, rocks. And it’s addictive, but not in a “playing it 24 hours a day” kind of way, no, it’s more of a “waking up at 2am, because I forgot to milk the cow” addictive.

You’re given an isometric plot of land and some cash to buy stuff like crops, trees, and buildings, and that’s about it. There’s no defined goal, but the initial hook of the game lies is in the sheer amount of pixelated goodies you can choose to fill your little farmstead with. I’m still a relative newbie, but I already have a choice of fifteen or so veggies to grow, ten fruit trees to pick from and countless hay bales, fences and the like to decorate my little plot with. Customization is a driving factor in a lot of popular games these days, and FarmVille offers it plentifully.

Money doesn’t grow on trees, at least not while I’m still at level ten. Some of the more extravagant varieties of flora and fauna cost money, and what better way than to sell your crops? Different crops take different amounts of time to harvest; raspberries will be ready in a couple of hours, but wheat, for example, will take three days. The subtle beauty of this mechanic is really what makes FarmVille so ideally suited to the millions of casual gamers out there, because unlike other games with a virtual nurturing element that essentially demands your attention every day, you can happily set up your farm to take care of itself for a few days and not have to worry about it. This means if you’ve got time on your hands you can plant a bunch of seeds with a rapid turnaround, but if you’re not going to be near a computer for a few days (eek!) you can plant some artichokes and not lose any sleep over your precious produce withering away.

For users who just have to have that little extra something in their farm, the game also has an extensive selection of virtual goodies that can be paid for with micro-transactions. It’s a shame that the only way to pay for the seriously cool stuff is with real money – I think it’s enough that I’ve invited goodness knows how many people to play FarmVille, but the fact that virtual goods spending is set to reach one billion dollars this year, significantly shows this is a winning model.

Uniquely, FarmVille is also a rare example of a social media game that appeals to nearly everyone. So many games are released these days with strongly defined target demographics, be it ninjas for boys or fashion designers for girls, that it’s refreshing to find a game with almost universal appeal. I got my FarmVille invite from a distant cousin twice my age and you know, I kind of felt obliged…

Looking at the current generation of consoles, I can appreciate the Xbox 360 bringing online gaming to the masses, the Wii offering a new level of physical interactivity and the PS3… er, being shiny and expensive, but fundamentally, we’re all still playing platformers, FPS’s and beat-em-ups.

Judging by the video below, however, we might be in for something revolutionary in the form of Microsoft’s Project Natal. Some of the scenes are obviously scripted, but the ideas behind the technology are inspirational enough to warrant watching all the way through.

First of all, what’s all this Augmented Reality business about? Wikipedia says it’s basically a mix of real-world images and computer generated graphics, brought together in real time. Think of the old Playstation iToy and you’re on the right track.

The reason Augmented Reality is causing a stir right now is because the technology involved in creating this kind of experience is gradually becoming available on mobile platforms, like cell phones and Nintendo’s new DSi handheld. This means instead of users being tied to their bulky Playstation and television in the living room, they can go out and explore the big wide world, consequently making AR much more interesting.

There’s more detailed info here, but let’s get to the fun stuff! It’s still early days, but here are a few examples of Augmented Reality games in action.

Going back to the iPhone again, The Hidden Park offers a fairy-hunting, riddle-solving family day in the outdoors. With the help of magical guide, Trutton, kids follow map directions and clues to different landmarks, taking photo’s along the way. At the end of the outing, young adventurers are left with a photo album of their journey, with lots of creatures appearing on screen, where that hadn’t in real life.

As an aside, for those interested in social media, take a look at the comments left on the Boston Globe article written about this game. There’s more than a hint of trolling involved, but beneath the flaming, the argument between one person’s disinterest in new technology and another person’s assumption that they’re just too old to get it, caught my eye.

Seek N’ Spell is a new game designed to run kids ragged and get them to learn something at the same time. It’s not all good news though – they have to be holding your shiny new iPhone at the same time, so you might want to get that insurance plan AT&T tried to sell you after all. Anyway, if I explain that the game scatters virtual letters of the alphabet on a football field-sized area, and that your kids have to run and collect them to form words, you can skip the first two minutes of the video and get to the cool part.

It’s behind you! For the more braver gamers amongst us, take a look at this creepy trailer for Ghostwire on the DSi. I’m on the fence whether this is suitable for little ones; the music in the trailer is pretty creepy, however the game itself looks like a fun puzzler/collect-’em-up. I believe there’s a phone-based version of this coming out too.

There are lots more examples of this growing technology out there, however these were the best ones I could find that were suitable for children. If you’re interested in some of the wider possibilities Augmented Reality might be capable of, take a look at these other demos or check out this specific one for the iPhone. Exciting stuff!

Anyone who’s worked with me in the past five or so years will tell you, as soon as I find an online game I like, I won’t just email you the link, I’ll chase you down and make sure you play it. Thankfully I don’t find games that are mass-email-worthy that often, but for those of you who I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting me yet, this post represents me sitting on the corner of your desk, begging you to stop what you’re doing and play, play, play!

I’m sure for some of you seems like a no-brainer, or old news, but Eric informs me this site isn’t complete without a post dedicated to the timeless, tranquil pleasure that comes from playing a game on Orisinal: Morning Sunshine.

Whether you’re blissfully bouncing a star off a bubble, or making a bunny hop from one tinkling bell to another, the combination of simple game-play, elegant visuals, and ambient sounds makes Orisinal a pleasure to visit over and over. The site has no online multiplayer features, no hidden rewards to unlock, and no leveling up, but when it comes to enjoying a pure gaming experience, Orisinal is one of the best examples out there.

What are you waiting for? Just play one round of Winterbells and you’ll be hooked!

This is the first major brand I’ve seen using Unity, and it’s a bandwagon I would like to see the Disney’s and Nickelodeon’s of the world jump on, at least for a game or two. The Quest for R2-D2 looks polished to the point where it compliments the other Lego branded games like Batman and the recently released, Indiana Jones, but it still has the instant playability of a good web game.

I wonder what might be possible if this kind of Flash technology is used in an MMO. Perhaps we’ll see soon.

This blows my mind. In fact a part of me hopes I’ve just got my facts wrong and I’m talking a load of nonsense here.

Wait a minute before you think I’m getting on my anti-violence-high-horse here, I’m not talking about shielding our little ones from every little misdeed portrayed on screen; I grew up on He-Man, Ninja Turtles and G.I. Joe and it didn’t make me into a gun-crazed psychopath with a penchant for pizza, but come on, a line has to be drawn here.

I don’t have a problem playing violent video games; I loves me a little bit of GTA Vice City now and then, but would I want my eleven-year-old cousins to get hold of it? Of course not. I need a new sofa because they’re always jumping on it, imitating the last thing they saw on television that day. Why would games, as graphically advanced and immersive as they are nowadays be treated any differently?

Incidentally, I was working out at my local gym yesterday afternoon and one of the multitude of TV’s they have there was showing the movie, The Punisher. Another screen had an episode of Dog the Bounty Hunter on. The former showed some poor guy getting his eyebrow piercings ripped out by a torturous mobster, whereas Dog’s wife, Beth, had her cleavage pixelated. Yes, yes. I’m from Europe, and we’re all supposed to be cool with the human body, yada yada yada, but seriously, which of the above scenes is more offensive to you, or more importantly to children? Am I just looking at this the wrong way? I’d like to know.

Given his film background, the question inevitably raised was his opinion on the progressively blurred line between cinema and gaming, but Spielberg doesn’t think we’re there just yet. It’s ironic though; the Medal of Honor franchise, famous for its cinematic look and feel, was originally created by his former games company, Dreamworks Interactive before being sold to Electronic Arts. George Lucas is another big name Hollywood director who’s studio, LucasArts is noted for creating games like Monkey Island or Day of the Tentacle that users watch like a movie as much as play like a game.

If George and Steven weren’t already buddies, I’d say someone needed to hook them up.