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that are relevant to girls', such as fashion.

This gender labelling could arguably have a negative impact on children's futures, since girls restricted to using solely toys labelled as being made for them would not only be deprived of the experience of interacting with toys that resembled adult technology, but would actually feel reluctant to manipulate this technology in future because it resembled toys that were labelled as not being for them. In a world where technology plays an increasingly significant role, the labelling of most forms of technology as male' in young children's minds cannot be seen as a positive step towards gender equality.

It has been shown that playing with technology is a very good way to build computer literacy, and children develop key skills in computer literacy by playing with technology. Video games can help girls catch up with boys in the development of visual-spatial skills, at which boys in general tend to be naturally better. Videogames are increasingly becoming an entry point for interacting with technology, and to lock that door to girls through making them feel that it is inappropriate to play is putting them at a serious disadvantage.

Studies have shown that technology plays a much more central role in the social lives of boys than of girls. Young men often to construct their friendships around technological activities much as they do around sport, and these activities mediate their social interactions. In other words, such activities act as a buffer for young men, through which they are allowed to connect with each other. Since the consumer market for technology is predominantly male, it is hardly surprising to find that the videogames industry has also traditionally targeted the male market and has made products to appeal specifically to them. From a very early age, both girls and boys view videogames as an activity more appropriate for boys.

This in turn tends to make it more difficult for female players to find videogames with which they can engage. Many female players find games unappealing because they perpetuate and endorse certain gender stereotypes and seem to promote antisocial behaviour. There are women such as those involved in the Quake Grrls' movement, who claim the videogame space as their own regardless of the industry's attempt to prescribe a certain version of femininity as dominant or appropriate. While the women who partake in this movement might feel quite comfortable and actually enjoy crossing designated

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