Wild Web Woods
Game from the Council of Europe to help youngsters avoid falling foul of dodgy internet content.
Brussels, Belgium — June 10, 2008 — The Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) announced today the PEGI Online registration for “Wild Web Woods”, a videogame published by the Council of Europe (CoE). Wild Web Woods is designed to help children – primarily within the 7 to 10 age range – learn the basic rules of internet safety in an engaging and fun format. The Council of Europe launched the game in English at the end of 2007 and by now it has reached over 1.7 million unique hits. The game is hosted on the Council’s website at www.coe.int/children in 14 language versions.
“We developed Wild Web Woods as part of the Council of Europe’s programme, ‘Building a Europe for and with children’, which promotes children’s rights and their protection from all forms of violence,” says Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
“In particular, Wild Web Woods teaches children to protect themselves from unsuitable content on the Internet, which is also the objective of ISFE’s PEGI Online initiative. We are therefore delighted to register the game, which now carries the PEGI Online logo.”
Making online gaming safe and enjoyable
Patrice Chazerand, Secretary General of ISFE, welcomes the decision. “We are particularly honoured that the Council of Europe has joined PEGI Online and embraced its Code of Conduct. Wild Web Woods perfectly illustrates what we set out to accomplish, namely to make online gaming a safe and enjoyable experience.
“Moreover, the association with the institution that promotes human rights and protects individuals across 47 European countries will help us to extend the reach of PEGI Online. In particular, it will bring on board providers of online videogames who clearly care about protecting minors and promoting human rights, but have not yet joined our initiative.
“Wild Web Woods is a commendable initiative and we hope many more will follow in the near future. It provides great support to parents who are concerned about the risks posed by unsuitable internet content ” concludes Patrice Chazerand.
PEGI Online, initiated about a year ago by ISFE, is the extension of PEGI, the Pan European Game Information System. Currently used in about 25 countries in Europe and beyond, PEGI protects minors against unsuitable content by helping parents to make informed buying decisions.
Companies that register with PEGI Online (see www.pegionline.eu ) commit themselves to offer only games duly classified by established European rating agencies, to ban inappropriate material from their online gaming sites, to ensure appropriate behaviour among users and to provide effective reporting mechanisms.
About the Council of Europe
Founded in 1949, the Council of Europe seeks to develop throughout Europe common and democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals. For further information on the CoE, please visit the website: www.coe.int
About ISFE
Established in 1998 and registered in 2002 under Belgian law as an international association with scientific and pedagogical purposes, ISFE (the Interactive Software Federation of Europe) represents the interests of the interactive software sector throughout the 27 EU Member States plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Today, ISFE membership comprises 13 major publishers of interactive software as well as 13 interactive software trade associations throughout Europe. For more information please visit www.isfe.eu .
About PEGI
ISFE initiated the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system (see www.pegi.info) in 2002. Since April 2003, PEGI has been administered independently by the Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media (NICAM). PEGI provides an age rating recommendation system for videogames intended to inform European parents regarding content that is suitable for their children; As a classification system PEGI supports informed adult choice and does not censor content.
About PEGI Online
Created in 2007, PEGI Online complements the existing PEGI system by creating a trust seal identifying the online game providers committed to the PEGI Online Safety Code. It provides parents with an easy educational tool that allows today’s young people to play safely on the internet and protects them against unsuitable gaming content. For more information please visit www.pegionline.eu.
For more information:
Katja Mader
15 rue Guimard
B-1040 Brussels
Tel: + 32 2 513 57 77
e-mail: katja.mader@isfe.eu