Highly amusing:
The Miss Bimbo game has seen girls aged as young as nine given an online alter ego, which they look after.
They compete against other players in beauty contests to earn money so they can dress their characters in lingerie and take them to nightclubs.
The aim of the game is to become "the coolest, richest and most famous bimbo in the whole world". Players keep the girls at their target weight using diet pills.
They are given missions, including securing plastic surgery to give their "bimbo" bigger breasts and finding a billionaire boyfriend to bankroll her, while keeping a constant check on her hunger, thirst, happiness and other statistics.
Three, Two, One, cue outrage:
But parents’ groups fear it will fuel teenagers’ desire for plastic surgery and lead to eating disorders.
OK, so, what to do about it, if anything? Well, you could ban it, but we don’t do such things in a free society. Parents could block the site on their children’s computers. And that’s about it.
22 responses so far ↓
1 Letters From A Tory // Mar 25, 2008 at 10:15 am
Schools could ban it and parental filters should do the same. The problem is lack of IT skills amongst parents more than anything.
http://lettersfromatory.wordpress.com
2 The Great Simpleton // Mar 25, 2008 at 10:57 am
Yeah, lets ban it because it never raises the kudos of whatever is banned and kids always respect bans. And aren’t we lucky that kids never, ever, find ways to indulge themselves when parents ban something.
3 Doug // Mar 25, 2008 at 11:27 am
What do ‘they’ expect kids to do? This is so sick on so many levels.
1 - kids are too dumb to be able to tell the difference between an online game and reality.
2 - Sassy, fun and cheeky games are to be discouraged. Kids must have a serious approach to their future.
3 - Kids grow up into creative fun adults in spite of their upbringing, not because of it - those who get through undamaged of course. Christ am I glad that I am not the child of one of those moaners.
Parents groups are just nosey bossy busybodies - the only people who take them seriously are shoddy journalists.
4 The Remittance Man // Mar 25, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Everyone seems to think it’s the site’s fault for teaching “bad” values.
Now quite apart from the fact that I reckon a lot of kids are smart enough to tell the difference between (tasteless) make believe and reality, what does this say about the way they are being taught any other values? Say, by their parents*.
If a damned computer game is more powerful than their parents’ efforts, maybe the parents are the ones who need to review their approach to things like bringing up their kids.
*I know, it’s a radical idea. But hey! I’m paid to dream up “off the wall” ideas.
5 JuliaM // Mar 25, 2008 at 3:00 pm
What are the quest rewards like..? Any PvP…?
6 han // Mar 25, 2008 at 3:36 pm
i have to say, the only reason i even saw the game was because it was all over the news.
and because of that of course i had to go on it.
if they really want a way to stop kids going on it, leave it alone, im pretty sure they would have gotten bored of it within a few weeks, but because of all this controversy it just inspires them to go on it more.
*tuts*
7 Will Rhodes // Mar 25, 2008 at 6:10 pm
“JuliaM // Mar 25, 2008 at 3:00 pm
What are the quest rewards like..? Any PvP…?
”
Now that is funny shit! LOL
I have a backpack full of Ormuris runes and a Crab shield - no one will by it but when you have the set they are awesome!
But when the internet gets banned - who am I gunna sell them to is the question! >(
8 Will Rhodes // Mar 25, 2008 at 6:10 pm
*buy
9 Andrew Duffin // Mar 25, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Parents could block the site on their childrens’ computers?
How, exactly?
I know I could, but most parents know far far less about computers than their own (even quite small) children, so this really is a silly suggestion.
10 Glenn (aka angry economist) // Mar 25, 2008 at 9:32 pm
haha can’t we introduce a ‘progressive leftist’ game?
1pt for buying the Guardian every day
2 pts for believing polly toynbee
3 pts for approving of polly toynbee
4 pts for having had your carbon footprint calculated
5 pts for being a subscribing ‘friend’ of ippr
6 pts for attending an event at the ippr
7 pts for getting internal UK flights banned in your workplace
8 pts for buying a freetrade latte
9 pts for thinking business profits are bad
10 pts for being an anti globalisation protester (wearing nike, reebok, adidas trainers or hoodies from H&M - all made abroad)
100 pts for liking Gordon Brown
200 pts for believing that child poverty can be ended
The winner gets to work in the Brown cabinet policy/research unit
winne
11 leanne // Mar 25, 2008 at 11:45 pm
i really hate this web site because it is encouriging young children want to have facial jobs and have tablets to make them skiny …its just not right.!
12 Ho Hum // Mar 26, 2008 at 1:57 am
leanne…i really hate this web site because it is encouriging young children want to have facial jobs and have tablets to make them skiny …its just not right.!
and it’s so wrong for the government to promote its legislative agenda this way. I hear that if you want Miss Bimbo to have a second brain cell, you have to practise genetic modification
13 Kay Tie // Mar 26, 2008 at 11:07 am
“i really hate this web site because”
Don’t visit it then.
14 seonaid // Mar 26, 2008 at 6:25 pm
i think miss bimbo is a great website and i have no objection to my 10 and 11 year old daughters playing it it is a game not real life let the kids have some fun
15 Rose // Mar 26, 2008 at 7:17 pm
I personally don’t see the humor in it.
16 Diana // Mar 29, 2008 at 4:06 am
i think miss bimbo is a great site too,i play it with my daughter and we love it.
If other parents don`t know how to educate their kids,then just lock up the pc with a password.Let the ppl who know how to have fun to play it. Don`t blame the site couse you don`t have time to spend it with your kid…blame yourself….
17 Megan // Apr 1, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I only heard about the site because it was on the news and i know a lot of my friends did to!
Free publicity or what?!
If Parent brang up there children to know the difference between a game and real life (like mine did) then there would be no problem!
If people don’t like the site well don’t go on it and if you don’t want your children to don’t let them, but its only a game!
I personally think its pethetic that it was on the news .. Im 13 and even i would want to know proper news like of people going missing and things happening around the country not news of stupid parents trying to get a site banned!
18 anon // Apr 3, 2008 at 12:05 pm
“i think miss bimbo is a great site too,i play it with my daughter and we love it.”
You play it with your kid? there’s a line between fun and incriminating….’barbie.com’ is fun. this site is simply wrong, promoting wasted values that cannot be viewed as correct or enlightening in any context. To those people that say that its up to parents, i agree. But children are heavily exposed to media, which is a powerful tool. Parents can definitely instill good values but the influence of media is often hard to fight against, which is why sites like this should be banned.
19 georgia // Apr 30, 2008 at 2:22 pm
i carnt even get on da bluddy site wat is it ??
20 chelsea emmett // May 1, 2008 at 11:01 am
i cant get on mrs bimbo
21 scarlet // Aug 2, 2008 at 9:11 pm
this site is the most best sight in the hole world i like to hang out on msn and habbo and different chat rooms but mrs bimbo is one of the best it may have been on the news saying it is unsuterble for us it is a little bit but it is fun and it is showing you how to look after your body and showing you if you want plastic surdgery then that is what happens and if you are thinking what will happen then that will show you love mrs bimbo xxxxxxx
22 AJEMTAPISON // Aug 4, 2008 at 2:07 pm
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