If word on the playground is to be believed, Disney spent $350 million (or maybe twice that) on Club Penguin, a fad fading faster than hypercolor. Apparently children are fickle beasts, happy to glom onto the newest igloo-decorating simulator. Penguins have fallen out of favor, according to our preteen correspondents. "Do you use Club Penguin anymore?" asked one 8-year-old. The response: "No, it's too old school." At least they're learning to cynically identify fads when they're young.

The kiddies, anecdotally, are migrating to the newest form of virtual world crack, WebKinz. No doubt this, too, will be a fleeting obsession. Eventually kids leave PlaySkool behind for more serious toys, like MTV's Virtual Laguna Beach. The larger problem is that no one is developing kid-friendly worlds that contain anything to promote long-term interest. Until they do, they'll flash in and out of vogue faster than playground taunts.

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