Toronto — The young denizens of Whyville never saw the dreaded Whyflu coming – though in retrospect, the flu clinic that mysteriously popped up in their virtual world a few weeks earlier should have been a clue.
Avatars who hadn’t received a flu shot started coming down with the Whyflu, sneezing every time they tried to communicate with their online friends. (Avatars are the cartoon-like characters people use to represent themselves in virtual worlds.)
Interest in flu vaccine spiked and over the course of a six-week period in the 2006 flu season, 20,000 Whyvillians were virtually vaccinated. And 20,000 tweens – the age group drawn to the popular Whyville website – learned about influenza and the value of flu shots.
For the complete news item, please visit http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hsQ1IglCEBUCVHysORp_2SNF32dw
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