London - The BBC plans to launch a virtual world for kids in the fall of 2007 that lets them build avatars and create and share content, BBC Online reported.

The British broadcaster's CBBC, a channel targeted at children aged 7-12, will build "CBBC World" with an eye towards safety and privacy, leaving out the chat rooms and virtual currencies found in other online worlds like "Second Life."

Children will be able to play games, listen to radio, watch TV and other video on-demand, and create and share their own content with other kids within CBBC World.

"It will give children a chance to move around a safe, secure world where they can not only interact with familiar characters but have an opportunity to make that world a more fascinating place with their own imaginations," a BBC spokesman said.

Related Links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6290585.stm
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1996898,00.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc