Club Penguin. Webkinz. Kids sure have loads of 3D and virtual entertainment options, which augers well for the future of the 3D Internet.
My own 4-year-old first took a shine to Trainz, the very nice railroad simulator that not only got him keenly interested in the computer, but gave him the opportunity to explore some basic 3D world building skills, learn a little about how railroads and related industries beyond the Thomas the Tank Engine phase.
Of late, his growing interest in science and building Lego City vehicles has brought him to the nifty little sorta 3D Lego City game.
And hanging around there with him lead me to discover Lego Digital Designer, a free downloadable application that lets you build lego models in 3D. Pretty amazing bit of software that lets you not only lets my preschooler become a 3D model builder, but users can upload their designs and Lego will send you the parts to build the real thing. (Parents, you can check the price of Jr.'s custom masterwork before buying.)
I was also impressed at how simple the interface was, easy enough for most kids and parents to begin to build almost immediately.
Now just imagine how this model might be expanded for many other applications of customer-generated, or even designed, innovations.
Here's a little clip to give you a sense of how LDD works:
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