Whyville Becomes 10th Largest U.S. City

Whyville Becomes 10th Largest U.S. City

PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Whyville.net, the online, educational virtual city for children, registered its 1 millionth "citizen" in December of 2004, making it the 10th largest city in the United States, ranked above Detroit and just below Dallas.

The virtual community (www.whyville.net) is a graphical virtual world where kids aged 8 to 14 (67% girls) become citizens. They interact and learn together through educational activities that range from math and science to art and civics. Citizens create personas for themselves, write for the local newspaper, start virtual businesses, and campaign to become Whyville Senator. Making the world go round is a virtual currency, the Whyville clam. Citizens earn clams by participating in educational games and other constructive activities. In Whyville, as in real life, clams improve one's quality of life.

The virtual community (www.whyville.net) was launched in 1999 by scientists, researchers, and entrepreneurs interested in exploring new ways to creatively engage young students over the Internet. The founders of Whyville were responsible for the national pre-college science program CAPSI (Caltech Pre-college Science Initiative), a collaborative effort linking scientists and engineering professionals with educators, teachers and school administrators.

"One million registered users without a penny spent on marketing is a strong confirmation of the validity of our approach," says Dr. James Bower, CEO of Numedeon Inc., Whyville's parent company.

In addition to operating Whyville, Numedeon, Inc. has adapted its virtual community software engine to applications in the adult world, including a scientific collaborative environment for the University of Texas.

Numedeon, Inc. is a privately held company based in Pasadena, California.

www.numedeon.com
301 N. Lake Ave, Suite 800
Pasadena, CA 91101


PRNewswire -- Feb. 4


Source: Numedeon Inc.

Web site: http://www.whyville.net/
http://www.numedeon.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information or to request pictures, contact: Jennifer Y. Sun, Ph.D., President, +1-626-568-3385, Jen@whyville.net, or Interview Contact: Jim Bower, Ph.D., CEO/Chairman, +1-210-382-0553, jim@whyville.net, both of Numedeon Inc.

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