Disney Pixar The World of Cars Online (www.worldofcars.com)

$6, Mac OSX, Windows, Internet Site

Teaches: language, logic, spatial relations, typing

CTR Rating: 88%

CTR Review

Fresh from Disney, a fun children's virtual world based on the movie Cars, making it possible to drive into Radiator Springs, chat with other car avatars, enter races, or just explore. The site is a Flash 10 masterpiece, created by many of the same people that made Club Penguin. If you have a Mac or Windows computer, you can have a car up and running by the time you finish this article by visiting www.worldofcars.com. Like a spider web, however, Cars Online has an underlying agenda. It expertly lures children in, teases them with cool car swag that looks good but costs money. Your child will be continually tempted with decals and fancy paint jobs that you can preview but can't have unless you pay. So, while Cars Online is free and fun, there's a rather fuzzy toll booth that might be hard to explain to your five year old, especially after she's won some prize money, and wants to change her car to her favorite color.There are three areas to explore, each with a different theme, stores and four player racetrack. Features include two types of chat, the ability to make friends and have private chat sessions, and subscription access to special areas of the world. In addition, Mattel is selling a set of die cast vehicles that come with special race codes.