AOL Launches PlaySavvy.com

New Site Serves as Gaming Resource for Parents

New York, NY . – AOL announced the launch of AOL PlaySavvy.com, http://www.playsavvy.com, a new site that targets parents of children ages 5-17 and helps them decipher the world of games, both PC and console. PlaySavvy also helps parents stay aware of their kids’ entertainment choices including assisting them in making informed decisions about buying games for their children. The PlaySavvy.com launch is a continuation of AOL’s overall programming goal to offer consumers interactive and engaging experiences with relevant sites that target people’s passion points. This year, AOL launched several targeted sites including ParentDish.com, http://www.parentdish.com, Lemondrop.com, http://www.lemondrop.com, WalletPop.com, http://www.walletpop.com, and Holidash.com, http://www.holidash.com.

“Playing video games is one of the top pastimes for children these days, almost more than watching TV. We created AOL PlaySavvy to help parents navigate through all the gaming information out there in order to decide what’s appropriate for their children,” said Libe Goad, Editor-in-Chief, AOL PlaySavvy. "In addition, PlaySavvy provides advertisers the opportunity to reach this targeted user base by creating appealing campaigns around the content.”

PlaySavvy will provide the following features:

* Gaming 101 – PlaySavvy editors help parents understand game ratings and where to find them on a game box, how to use parental controls on the game systems, offer tips on what online games and web sites are safer for children, and provide advice for first time buyers on the differences between video game systems and which one is most appropriate for their family.
* Parent Q&A – Consumers can ask questions about games and get real-time answers from a panel of real-life parents.
* Reviews – Video game experts provide reviews ranging from how appropriate to how fun a game is for kids.
* Relevant How-To Articles – PlaySavvy staff helps guide parents through the video game wasteland including common issues on hot-button topics such as content and safety.

AOL has long been a leader in the Parental Controls space, pioneering the idea of online safety for children when it began offering a robust set of tools designed to help parents keep their children safe online. In September, AOL launched SafetyClicks.com, http://www.safetyclicks.com, a new online safety education Web site, and introduced an improved version of its free, downloadable parental controls software, http://parentalcontrols.aol.com, that is designed to give parents the tools they need to help protect their children from inappropriate or dangerous online material.

AOL Games experienced 41% unique visitors growth, 62% page view growth and 54% engagement growth year-over-year, according to October 2008 comScore Media Metrix. AOL Games also runs GameDaily.com, http://www.gamedaily.com, and BigDownload.com, http://www.bigdownload.com.