“For our target audience of 15- to 24-year-old, social gaming represents a major expenditure of time and money around the globe,” Ramu Yalamanchi, founder and CEO of Hi5, said in a statement released Thursday. “Hi5 Games is just one of a range of immersive features that will further engage our users, both keeping them on the site longer and driving them towards new forms of monetization for our business.”

The gamers will be able to purchase premium gaming features, to upgrade their status using hi5 Coins and other features. More details and information related to Hi5 Games, you can find visiting their official site.

Then, when I was doing some research for today’s article I thought that this issue could be good to discuss about it. And so I discovered that there are parents really concerned about their children activity on gaming and gambling sites.

Many kids use the Internet to play online games. But often when you use search engines to find game sites, you also find gambling sites. Banner ads and pop-ups for casinos are everywhere on the Web. While games sites are free and usually feature card, arcade, puzzle game types with automatic tracking and scoring, gambling sites involve winning or losing actual money.

Due to the nature of Internet, online gambling sites cannot physically check a visitor’s age or prevent them from accessing the site.
However after reading several online releases and visiting online gambling sites (yes I did that to see how `easy` can you sign up), we’ve come up with a list of things that us, as parents, can do to protect our children from online gambling risks.

1. Check where the kids are going online and what they’re doing;
2. Establish rules about what games they can play;
3. Remind them that it is illegal to gamble and explain them how usually gambling works and that it can be addictive;
4. Make sure you check every time they ask you about your credit card number or other personal/financial data;
5. If you use these kind of software, make sure you don’t use the `save password` feature;
6. Create separate profiles for children on your home PCs;
7. Use parental control software.

Full of blood, guns, chainsaws and other deadly weapons, many games that have hit the mainstream game purchasers, many of those that are young teens and adults, have become massively popular. Some even contain sexual content and illegal substances. Those against these types of games tend to offer suggestions that they lead to negative behavior in children. Some even go as far as saying “These types of video games are teaching our children how to kill, have sexual relations, and use illegal drugs.”

What do most gamers have to say about this? Many say that the recent outcries against violent games are ridiculous. Violent video games give a source of entertainment, and that is all. Supporters also say that it gives a safe environment to do something people can’t and wouldn’t normally do outside of their gaming realm. Normally, people can’t drive race cars around heavily populated streets, they can’t snipe the head off an evil alien race, and fighting monsters with a sword in both hands are something we can’t do in real life.

Arguments are still prominent, though. Those involved in school shootings, including the killers at Columbine High School, have had the blame put on video games. While video games may have been a part of their life, there is no fact to the statement that they caused the killings.

As a parent, you should be well aware of what video games your children are playing. Some games will be appropriate, and some might be on the edge of what isn’t suitable. Teaching your child appropriate gaming etiquette and telling them what is wrong and right is key in keeping your child’s gaming behavior in check.