Virtual Worlds for Kids “Exploding”

Now that the marketing community has firmly given the heave-ho to Second Life, is virtual world marketing dead?

Not a chance.

In fact, 2008 will see a ton of activity. With major media companies such as Disney, Viacom and Turner betting big bucks on virtual worlds for kids and young people, the market will continue to grow.

As Sibley Verbeck of Electric Sheep Co. told ClickZ, “The kid’s space is exploding.” Good for him, since his company’s SL business has foundered.

Virtual worlds operate at the sweet spot between gaming (hugely popular with children and tweens) and social networking (teens and young adults). They have the potential to draw huge audiences from both demographics.

Now, if only Webkinz would let my kid log in and register her new pet. Yesterday the site’s servers were down.