Carnegie Mellon's Information Networking Institute (INI) and Web Wise Kids have announced the launch of an educational mobile application that engages kids who are beginning to use social networks in a game about online safety when accessing social networking websites via their mobile devices. The free mobile app, BeSeen, is now available in the Apple iTunes store

It was developed in collaboration with The Wireless Foundation and Trend Micro Internet Safety for Kids and Family, with additional funding from The Verizon Foundation. It was created to enable kids around the world to learn how to use social networks safely and responsibly. The app is available on Apple's iOS and will be available on the Android OS later in the year.

BeSeen is a single-player game that simulates a social networking site where players create a profile and travel through a condensed school year, with each game day equaling a fraction of a minute in real life. To earn awards, the player must make positive choices when presented with challenging social situations and solve puzzles along the way. The game is designed to help kids understand responsible online behavior such as securing their personal information, protecting their privacy, and defending their peers against cyber bullying.  

More information can be found at www.PlayBeSeen.com. To download the app, visit: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/beseen/id463888757?mt=8.

Source: Web Wise Kids: www.webwisekids.org; Carnegie Mellon University, www.cmu.edu