Yahoo! en Español Launches Kid-Friendly Yahoo! Para Niños.

Yahoo! en Español announced the launch of Yahoo! Para Niños (http://espanol.paraninos.yahoo.com), a special stand-alone section for children that includes a directory of child-friendly internet sites, interactive games and educational tools for parents and teachers. The new site represents Yahoo! en Español’s commitment to providing safe, age-appropriate content and Internet services for children.

Following guidelines of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Yahoo! Para Niños will feature relevant content in a safe and fun environment catering to the needs of the growing Hispanic youth market.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Hispanic children are now the largest young minority group in the United States. The number of Latinos under the age of 18 increased 59% between 1990 and 2000 to 12.3 million, surpassing the 10.6 million children and teens identified as “non-Hispanic Black.”

“Today’s children are growing up in the information age, and the Internet is a useful tool that can help parents and educators reach out and communicate with them,” said Jorge Consuegra, General Manager, Yahoo! en Español. “Yahoo! Para Ninos is designed to encourage kids to become more familiar with the Internet though a safe, fun, educational and entertaining site where they, their parents and their teachers can feel comfortable.”

Yahoo! Para Ninos will feature:
* Directorio de Paginas, a list of kid-friendly sites by category.

* Guia
A section for parents and educators that provides educational tools for teaching about the Internet. This section also features materials for teachers on classroom subjects such as math and reading, enabling them to create their own lesson plans.

* Sitios Destacados
Two sites-of-the-week selected by Yahoo! en Español’s editorial team providing kids with useful websites catering to their needs and interests.

* Chiste del Día
A daily riddle and Q&A section. Kids can submit their own jokes and riddles for possible posting on the site.

* Juegos
Allows kids to play games with other users, in a secure environment. Although games are interactive, there is no ability to chat between players.

* Polls
The site will also include polls where children can vote on a variety of interesting subjects relevant to kids’ issues.