Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Miss Bimbo Fashion Game
Miss Bimbo is a "virtual fashion game" that asks young girls to take care of virtual dolls called "bimbos." The controversy arises because girls are encouraged to put their dolls on extreme diets and have them undergo plastic surgery so they can "become the hottest, coolest most famous bimbo ever!"
Nothing is off limits. In keeping with the shallowness of the game's universe, breast implants, diet pills, and billionaire boyfriends are all part of process of becoming popular, and over 200,000 girls are playing the British version of Miss Bimbo.
So how much does it cost to keep your bimbo (just barely) alive?
Users are given missions, including securing plastic surgery at the game's clinic to give their dolls bigger breasts, and they have to keep her at her target weight with diet pills, which cost 100 bimbo dollars.
Breast implants sell at 11,500 bimbo dollars and net the buyer 2,000 bimbo attitudes, making her more popular on the site.
And to get more bimbo dollars for clothes or a face-lift, girls can, conveniently, either send text messages at $3 a pop or use PayPal. But if they get a rich boyfriend, all their needs will be magically taken care of. There's also a form of gambling on Miss Bimbo. Girls can "challenge" other players' bimbos and place bets using bimbo dollars.
Miss Bimbo's designers defend themselves by saying the game simply reflects "real life."
Nicolas Jacquart, the 23-year-old web designer from Tooting, south London, who created it, said: "It is not a bad influence for young children. They learn to take care of their bimbos. The missions and goals are morally sound and teach children about the real world.
"If they eat too much chocolate in the game it is bad for their bimbos' bodies and their happiness levels compared to if they eat fruit and vegetables, which reinforces positive healthy eating messages.
"If they are having problems with boyfriends or at work, the bimbos can talk through them with a psychiatrist.
"The breast operations are just one part of the game and we are not encouraging young girls to have them, just reflecting real life."
The concept first gained popularity in its French incarnation, Ma Bimbo, which has over a million registered users.
Miss Bimbo
Winning Miss Bimbo
Labels: Technology
