Cd-Rom And Web Site Is For Girls Only

Sat., Nov. 2, 1996

Ric Leyva Associated Press

In cyberspace, a virtual world even more male-dominated than the real thing, what’s a plugged-in girl to do?

There are dozens of shoot ‘em up games for joystick-happy big brothers. Dad has his sleepy flight simulator and computer golf. Even Grandpa is taken care of, able to climb back inside a WWII Sherman tank to chase Panzers again.

Long ignored by mainstream software designers, girls had to wait for an independent woman to create something just for them. Now they have it.

“Let’s Talk About Me” (Girl Games-Simon & Schuster Interactive, CD-ROM for Windows, $29.95) is an interactive grab bag of goodies for girls only. Activities range from picking the best hairdo to hearing advice from female role models including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and Marlo Thomas, star of “That Girl.

It’s all about having fun, but teaching without preaching and building girls’ self-esteem were clearly product goals as well.

Reminiscent of the mix-and-match fashion software seen in the movie “Clueless,” the disk’s crowning glory is the Ultimate Closet. Girls can put together various clothes, shoes and accessories to see how they’ll look.

Hairmaster 2000 is a virtually self-explanatory title for the section devoted to avoiding bad-hair days.

Naturally, there’s a diary (protected by a password to fend off prying eyes) for girls to record their innermost thoughts. And unlike a little locked book hidden under the mattress, the computer journal is easily spiced up with digital pictures and sound recordings.

Like the diary, the address book and scrapbook both can be personalized with photos of friends and outings, along with recorded voice messages, too. There’s also a daily activities planner for fledgling go-getters.

Valuable lessons about puberty lace the seemingly goofy Build-aBody section. I Kid You Not is a truefalse survey with more painless instruction on girls’ rapidly changing bodies, proper nutrition and life in general.

Absolute privacy for intimate personal reflection is ensured by the “panic button,” which blanks the screen on command any time a nosy parent or bratty brother intrudes.

Aimed at girls 8-14, “Let’s Talk About Me” was created by Laura Groppe, a 32-year-old Texan who left a promising career as a film producer to found Girl Games, which bears the motto: “Not your brother’s software.”

Groppe, the perfect role model for her target audience, hopes creating more girl-oriented software will encourage young girls to keep pace with computer-crazy boys.

“Let’s Talk About Me” is packed with things to do, including some games, such as Trashblaster, an arcade-style funfest in which Suzy Surfer saves endangered species and cleans up the environment.

Girls can check their horoscope or biorhythms, even get a palm reading. A fortune teller answers any question. There are jigsaw puzzles, true-to-life girl stories and a Dream Machine to help girls record and analyze their dreams.

The My Personality section has 10 quizzes girls can take to learn more about themselves, their families and their classmates. Categories include: Friends or Foes, Misery Meter and Parents From Mars.

The pop music and splashy artwork are pure girl, helping conjure the feel of a schoolgirl’s room decorated with teen idol posters and pictures of ponies, cuddly stuffed animals nestled on the pillow.

There are plans to update the disk periodically to stay current trend- and fashion-wise. There’s also the “Let’s Talk About Me” World Wide Web site offering hookups to prospective e-mail pen pals, online club membership and cool girl stuff to download. The address is http:/ /www.aboutme.com

Let’s talk about untapped market potential.

You go, girl.

xxxx

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