| Panfu | |
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Panfu Logo |
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| Developer(s) | Young Internet GmbH |
| Publisher(s) | Young Internet GmbH |
| Platform(s) | Online |
| Release date(s) | December 2007 February 2008 |
| Genre(s) | MMORPG |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Panfu is a virtual world for kids aged between 6 and 13. After the free registration each player can create their own panda. With this avatar the players can chat with each other, play games, learn in a playful atmosphere and complete quests in the different places of the island Panfu.
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The two founders of Young Internet, Kay Kühne and Moritz Hohl, started Panfu in December 2007. Panfu is an artificial term composed of the words "panda" and the Chinese word for happiness, “fu“.[1] In June 2009 the website had 10 million users worldwide and became the biggest children's virtual world in Europe.[2] In the meantime, according to the owners, the amount of users has grown to 15 million and the service has been translated to 12 languages.[3]
According to the developers, security is the biggest priority in Panfu. A word filter prevents verbal attacks and warns the players when they aren’t following the rules. At the same time the chat is internationally moderated by adults who watch over the chat, proof-read every word and can ban players who aggravate others. With a high-security chat the players can pick pre-written messages.[4] Besides verbal aggravation, asking for or giving private information is also forbidden. Users cannot say the names of other games such as Club Penguin, drawing a lot of criticism.
The player can go to different parts of the island of Panfu: the city, harbor, volcano, jungle etc. Hidden all over are minigames which children can play alone or with others. The players can communicate and help each other in the quests through the moderated chat. Players obtain "panda coins" from the minigames with which the members can buy items and clothes. Every avatar has a tree house which is a room that they can decorate themselves, and other pandas can visit.
Some of the minigames are developed in collaboration with pedagogic institutes. Through playing learning games in the "underwater school" the children can learn e.g. mathematics and Spanish in a playful way.
The basic features of Panfu are free of charge. Some special feature can be used after buying a membership called "The Gold Package". The membership allows a game free of advertisement. The membership can be ordered for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months at a time.