Ten Ton Hamster

BBC News reported that virtual worlds were a good space for children to 'rehearse' real life situations and social interaction.

Here is a snippet of the artilce:
"The research looked at the ways the children used the world and sought feedback from them on its good and bad aspects.

ROLES ADOPTED DURING PLAY
Explorer-investigators
Self-stampers
Social climbers
Fighters
Collector consumers
Power users
Nurturers
Life system builders

Prof Gauntlett said the research revealed that children assumed one of eight roles when exploring a virtual world and using the tools they put at their disposal.

At times children were explorers and at others they were social climbers keen to connect with other players. Some were power users looking for more information about how the workings of the virtual space.

Prof Gauntlett said online worlds were very useful rehearsal spaces where children could try all kinds of things largely free of the consequences that would follow if they tried them in the real world."

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