AllGirlArcade.com is a new gaming network based on All Girl Star Squad, an original entertainment property created by Fuel Industries, featuring the adventures of three all-star gamers who, due to their gaming skills, become the unlikely heroes to a group of adorable space creatures attempting to stop the evil Raveena from enslaving the universe. Centered initially around a gaming network, and expanding to an animated television series and line of toys, AllGirlArcade.com is a unique and safe web entertainment experience that will empower young females in an area that has been typically dominated by boys.

The web is not always a friendly place for children. With most premium content for girls focused on shopping and makeup-or locked behind steep monthly fees-AllGirlArcade.com aims to reinvent the type of premium content available to younger children online.

Based on the adventures of the All Girl Star Squad, the site not only offers a collection of games, but also a host of other features, including user profiles, a friends' network, console and handheld reviews, and the ability for players to challenge friends to top their high scores. As part of Fuel's dedication to the gaming industry, the site will also feature articles and interviews with females involved in gaming to help create awareness and inspire young girls who may have an interest in pursuing a career in game development.

The portal revolves around the story of three outgoing video game champions from Earth - the All Girl Star Squad - who are mistaken for heroes by a group of adorable alien creatures and enlisted to help save the universe from Raveena, a fire queen bent on absorbing the galaxy and replacing it with her own dystopian vision. Using their strategy, puzzle and action gaming skills, they'll help the band of aliens thwart Raveena's evil plans.

In addition to the games reflecting this storyline, the site offers girls the ability to earn gems through playing, which they can use at the in-site 'mall' to purchase additional content from the site, including digital gifts for their friends. Players can also earn trophies and rewards for passing certain levels or high scores within the games.

• AllGirlArcade.com is a gaming network developed specifically with 7 - 10 year old girls in mind.
• Females represent the largest casual gaming demographic at 51%.
• The site will contain advertising to cover bandwidth costs, but ads will undergo a selective screening process before appearing.
• Advertising will be sold by partner 4Kids Entertainment, who will also be advertising the site on American networks during Saturday morning cartoons.

As parents ourselves, we know how important your children's safety is to you - especially when it comes to the web. From the concept phase, there are a number of safety factors that we have adhered to, while still allowing interaction among friends.

• The predetermined screen name does not allow kids to create a name that would give away any personally identifiable information, such as an email address or real name. Instead, kids pick from a list of first names and last names to create combinations with random number endings.
• While the site allows girls to create profiles, it does not allow any personally identifiable information. Players can only enter information directly related to the site and the games they play.
• The social features of the site are enabled through email. In other words, you can only add someone to your network if you already know their email, ensuring that only friends are able to play together.

Mike Burns, the CEO of Fuel Industries and creator of AllGirlArcade.com, developed the site largely because of the lack of positive girl properties on the web today. Being the father of three young girls, it troubled him to see most online content either completely focused on buying makeup or overly sexualized the characters.

"My youngest daughter is 8, but she's still getting the message that to be cool, you have to dress provocatively," said Burns. "I wanted to fill the void of premium content for girls that portrays a much more positive image while still being fun to play."

As a result, a conscious decision was made to create characters that portrayed the kind of image that he wanted for his own daughters - active, intelligent, and not limited by doing things that are 'for boys.'

"For me, this is as much about creating something that took some of the focus away from unrealistic body images and fixations on clothes as it is about building a large-scale property," says Burns. "The characters still do the things that girls do, but it's not what defines their characters."

The development of AllGirlArcade.com and All Girl Star Squad will be ongoing. We're currently working on a number of initiatives, including:

• A massive multiplayer online world, in which characters can build their own pads, and furnish it using the winnings from game and tournament play. Phase one is scheduled for mid-June and will lay the basis for the virtual world. Phase two, which will add additional functionality is currently scheduled for launch in September of this year.
• A deal is in the works to create an animated series starting as three-minute webisodes and eventually building out into a full-length television series.
• A line of toys and other licensed product based on the All Girl Star Squad characters and story is currently being negotiated.