Virtual pets for kids

Shidonni
Shidonni is a "place to nurture kids' creativity and imagination" - using fab drawing tools for your child to draw and create their own animal, which will then inhabit a world kids can draw themselves!

You need Microsoft's Silverlight plugin for this, so we downloaded that, signed up, and drew our little animal, which magically started moving around, as Shidonni animates your creation and turns it into a virtual living being. Check it out:

Draw a background for your animal to play on, feed it, put your animal into bed for a snooze, or play games that feature your creature!

Complete "missions" to get cool prizes such as drawing tools, or apply for a passport to let your animal travel round the globe and be seen by all Shidonni users.

Aimed at kids from 4 to 10 years of age, this is a fun and enthralling site, very simple - yet extremely effective, in that your child gets involved from the get go. Currenly no chat feature, but if your child knows the name of a friend's pet, they can invite them to become a friend on the site and play with them there.

Tootsville
There's a lot for kids to discover in Tootsville, a virtual world for kids aged six to fourteen. You can join up for free to give it a whirl - your Toot can play a few of the games and choose their home. For access to all the fun and games, you'll have to join up as a paying member.

These virtual pets for kids take the form of cute and colorful elephants!

At the center of Tootsville is Toots Square, where you can go shopping and dining, find sweets and candy recipes, and visit the virtual travel agency. Earn Peanuts, the Tootsville virtual currency, in TootMall - or go over the bridge to set up your Toot's home!

Change the look of your Toot, buy clothes and furniture for your home, or use emoticons or text messages - text filters and moderators keep an eye on communication, and safety rules are clearly explained.

From the travel agency, visit new worlds with new discoveries - as well as collecting stamps for your passport. Destinations include

• Dinoland
• Moon Base - where you can launch a space shuttle
• Castle Toots
• ... and even Toots Idol!

Find wishing wells and special Golden Peanuts along the way, as you Toot around Tootsville :)

Bella Sara
For horse lovers aged 5 and up, the world of Bella Sara is "a magical place full of beauty and joy " - all that's left for your child to do is care for their horses in an online stable, brushing, feeding and cleaning out their stalls! As well as enjoy games and puzzles provided on this amazing looking site.

To register, you'll need to get hold of Bella Sarah Trading Cards. Each card has an activation code which you then enter on the site. There's no chat here, and you can find more info about the site in the FAQ and parents' page.

MyePets
Adopt your pet and join in the MyePets community, which aims to teach kids about taking responsibility, being creative, and interacting with friends online. The site says it is a "safe, interactive world" - and if you like, you can completely disable all chat options.

In this world of virtual pets for kids, children have to take care of their pet by feeding it and keeping it happy. There's a virtual tour you can take to see all the features ePets has to offer, which is pretty useful.

SeaPalsWorld
More virtual pets for kids here, this time in a virtual aquarium for kids five to twelve and up. Buy your plush Sea Pal, which could be a shark, dolphin, or sea horse, for example - and use the code to create your account. Chat here uses pre-determined words and phrases.

Kids get to find out about the ocean and the environment while having fun! Create a home for your Pal, and invite other SeaPals to your Pad for a sleepover, and purchase cool items for your Pad or aquarium using your Pearl Points, SeaPalsWorld's virtual currency. Take the tour to find out more and check out the parents' section.

Build-A-Bearville
More parental info and another virtual tour on this popular site, where you can play for free without buying a plush toy - or gain access to extra games and activities by registering the code you get after purchasing your Furry Friend.

Chat-wise, the site is launching its new instant chat feature, where your child can choose from many pre-approved phrases. Or you can choose the "silent" option, where your child cannot chat or see other players' chat.

Once you arrive in Buildabearville, you can see your character appear alongside other characters. Walk around by clicking the part of the screen where you want to go. Games are accessed via a small icon at the top of the screen, as well as appearing in various locations as you walk about.

It's not the cleanest interface I've seen, but there's quite a lot to see - you can get to other parts of Buildabearville by following the triangular icons leading off the screen. Click on a pawprint in front of a building to enter it. We've just entered the library area, where a choice of stories and activities pops up. There's a map icon too, so if you get lost, click on that and then click where you want to go.

The great advantage to this site is that you can get a flavor of the site by joining without buying the toy first.

Webkinz
Some of the most popular virtual pets for kids, Webkinz plush toys provide you with your code to register your pet at the Webkinz website.

Your first purchase gives you a year's access to the site. To extend your membership, you have to buy another Webkinz and adopt that new pet into your account before your first pet's year runs out.

Webkinz is designed for kids 6 thru 13, although you'll find many activities that younger kids can enjoy. For example, Quizzy's Question Corner offers over 1,000 age-appropriate questions for 5 to 7 year olds, and they are curriculum-based. Dressing and feeding your pet is easy, too, and your child can use the KinzCash they earn to buy food, accessories, furniture, garden stuff and more for their pet.

From the home page, take a tour or visit the parents' area.

Littlest Pet Shop
From Hasbro, the Littlest Pet Shop site offers games, activities and downloads that you can access without registering. However, if you want to get into their virtual world, you have to click through to the Littlest Petshop VIP website. VIP stands for Virtual Interactive Pets, by the way!

You can try this site for free! Sign up with a username and password, then "borrow" a pet to become a guest.

After purchasing a VIP pet, the secret code on the collar helps you register and name your pet. You get access to the site for a year with one purchase of a VIP pet. Kids play games, feed their pets, tend the garden, and earn points that they can use to get virtual clothing and other stuff for their pet in the virtual shops.