NEWS: US Army's computer game recruiting plan takes fire

News/Web Culture/Youth Trends
Found news.yahoo.com

The United States Army has invested an estimated 2 million dollars sponsoring an online gaming channel on the popular GGL website. The channel is centered around a first-person shooter based on the Army's training manual; groups opposing the war are calling this sponsorship as a blatent attempt to find new recruits among young online gamers in the prized recruiting age range of 17 to 24.

Yahoo News post:

Anti-recruitment groups are slamming a US Army deal to sponsor a computer war game channel, charging that real war is no game.

In June, the Army is set to sponsor a channel at the Global Gaming League website, a popular spot for Internet computer game lovers.

"It is part of this campaign for the last 20 years to invade youth culture with militarism," Project on Youth and Non-military Opportunities co-founder Rick Jahnkow told AFP.

"It affects the way young people think. It affects their world view. That is a very dangerous thing."

NEWS: EA Targets Women With New Venture

News/Web Culture/Online Games
Found on: wired.com

Calling all female gamers - here's your oppurtunity to get some street cred with your geeky guy friends: EA just announced a partnership with iVillage to provide content just for the ladies.

Wired.com post:

The so-called "elusive female gamer" is a much sought-after demographic in gaming, but EA is hoping its new alliance with iVillage will help bridge the gender gaming gap. EA's successful casual games portal, Pogo.com, will be the exclusive supplier of gaming content to iVillage's 16 million members. That is a heck of a lot of Word Whomp.

iVillage offers content geared specifically toward women readers, including beauty tips, information on pregnancy and parenting, and fashion. It will host monthly game nights and offer free two-week Pogo passes to members.