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Game console can be porn gateway 

10:41 AM CST on Friday, January 12, 2007
Do you use parental controls on video game consoles?
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Wii information for parents
• from Nintendo
PlayStation network parental controls
• from Sony
They were two of the hottest Christmas gifts: Nintendo's Wii and Sony's Playstation 3 game consoles.
But these machines aren't just hot among kids; they're also compatible with sexually-oriented Web sites.
Not only can your child access pornography along with WarioWare and Guitar Hero; the porn industry is advertising to target those toys.
For Laurn Schroeder, protecting her first grade girls is a priority. "[They're] innocent, and we want to try and keep them that way," she said."
But because the Wii, the PS3 and other game consoles have Internet access, it's easy for kids to access porn.
"It's very upsetting something this popular—a kid game—can go that direction so quickly," Schroeder said.
Young kids get it. In a blog, one child boasted, "The first thing I thought of when I downloaded the Wii browser was also porn."
What's worse: Some porn sites are advertising they are "Wii Friendly." Their screens have been reconfigured to fit the Wii and the Playstation 3.
"That's why it's so important to read into and do research and background checking before you invest in it," Schroeder said. She studied her daughters' Wii to identify the built-in parental controls.
Other parents, however, complain that Nintendo's scheme is unsatisfactory, and that the Wii browser lacks a "cyber-nanny" or filtering function.
For now, the Schroeder girls will keep playing. But their mom is keeping an eye on an industry that she says tricks and targets kids into learning too much, too fast.
"We need to keep them protected from people who want to invade a fun game like the Wii," Schroeder said.
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