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in the latter organisation's case, whilst at present all store outlets are company owned, the intention is to expand the business through a network of franchised operation, which provides an opportunity for rapid expansion with a reduced capital outlay.

Games and activities

As mentioned earlier, both websites have activities and games specifically designed for children's involvement. These are interactive in that the child's participation is required to activate the games and reach different levels.

Of the two, the Webkinz experience is more comprehensive as it offers the opportunity for the child to adopt the toy, which can then have its own online room. A range of activities and games are then made available for the child to play, some of which provide the incentive of prizes to be won.

The Build-A-Bear also has games and adventures that can be played online. Although these tend to be a little more basic than Webkinz, there are good for testing a child's abilities in educational areas such as spelling and co-ordination and are just as colourful.

Choosing between the two companies in terms of the toy to purchase depends upon the desire of then individual child. Both will appeal to different types of children. For the child that wants to get involved with their toy from the first steps of making it, Build-A-Bear would be an ideal choice. For those children that want to have more adventures with their toy, Webkinz may be more appropriate as it is felt that, although both have online activities, Webkinz site has the edge for those wanting to use the Internet resources and games.

However, if you want to provide your child with a magical experience, the Build-A-Bear retail experience is by far the better option. Not only can children become involved with making their own soft toy, the stores are also designed to recreate a fun toy-making environment.

Learn more about this author, Paul Lines.
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