Directgov, has launched a new Flash animated site for children aged
5-11. DirectgovKids
welcomes our future generation of civil servants (else why else would they be visiting Directgov?) into a self-contained little world full of virtual buildings to explore, each representing a part of
government – so introducing, says the blurb, "important ideas about
citizenship, democracy, and political participation".

Children’s Minister Beverley Hughes proclaimed "This is the first time children in the UK have been communicated with
directly by Government through an online site". 

The site is quite well constructed, with lots of animated games to play, though I don’t think the makers of Sim City have got anything to worry about just yet. I thought they could perhaps have introduced a bit more realism into the relationships between communities and government by introducing some elements from Doom3, but perhaps that’s part of a later release.

To pick up on an editorial from Public Sector Forums…" after all, which five-year-old wouldn’t tear themselves away from Hungry Hippos or their PlayStation 2 for a heated debate on ‘Sustainable Schools’? In the words of Eric Morecambe…"there’s no answer to that"!