PEGI Online

Brussels, 1 August 2008, ISFE (The Interactive Software Federation of Europe) today announced that PEGI Online was recently awarded Comenius-EduMedia's distinguished "Seal of Approval" for its web portal. Over the past 13 years, Comenius-EduMedia's awards become established as the most important German and European awards for ICT-based educational media in the form of CD-ROMs, DVDs, Internet portals, etc. The awards support outstanding didactic multimedia products in terms of pedagogy, content and design and are distributed by th e Society for Pedagogy and Information SPI (Gesellschaft für Pädagogik und Information e.V. or GPI).

PEGI Online was launched in 2007 by ISFE and complements its Pan European Game Information (PEGI) game classification system founded in 2002. The PEGI Online system creates a trust seal by identifying the online game providers committed to the PEGI Online Safety Code. PEGI Online offers parents an easy educational tool to help ensure that today’s young people play safely on the internet and are protected against unsuitable gaming content.

An international specialist jury of media experts from 9 European countries determines the selections for the Comenius-EduMedia awards. Since the award program was started in 1995, the number of submissions has steadily increased every year and has come from all over Europe. This year's submissions totaled 190 and were submitted from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, CzechRepublic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Switzerland.

Patrice Chazerand, Secretary General of ISFE, commented: “It is essential to educate parents and children to the meaning and practicalities of age recommendations issued by the PEGI (Pan-European Game Information) system to ensure that children play only videogames that are appropriate for their age group. The PEGI Online website is a key tool in this process of education and communication on the PEGI system. I take pride on commending the Helliwood team, a longstanding partner of PEGI, on this well-deserved recognition. They have proved to be a great resource during the entire process of building the PEGI Online web site, displaying unparalleled professionalism and dedication to our common goal of improving the protection o f minors against unsuitable content.”

Daniel Schötz, Technical Director of Helliwood media & education, said: "We are gratified to receive the Comenius EduMedia Seal 2008 and appreciate the recognition for this unique and groundbreaking e-learning project. Thanks to our successful cooperation with ISFE and NICAM, PEGI Online was established as an innovative extension of the PEGI System, which helps parents and educators to easily and accurately identify appropriate content for children in the world of online entertainment."

About ISFE

Established in 1998 and registered in 2002 under Belgian law as an international association with scientific and pedagogical purposes, ISFE (the Interactive Software Federation of Europe) represents the interests of the interactive software sector throughout the 27 EU Member States plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Today, ISFE membership comprises 13 major publishers of interactive software as well as 13 interactive software trade associations throughout Europe.

About PEGI

ISFE initiated the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system in 2002. Since April 2003, PEGI has been administered independently by the Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media (NICAM). PEGI provides an age rating recommendation system for videogames intended to inform European parents regarding content that is suitable for their children; As a classification system PEGI supports informed adult choice and does not censor content.

About PEGI Online

Created in 2007, PEGI Online complements the existing PEGI system by creating a trust seal identifying the online game providers committed to the PEGI Online Safety Code. It provides parents with an easy educational tool that allows today’s young people to play safely on the internet and protects them against unsuitable gaming content.

For more information:

Katja Mader

15 rue Guimard

B-1040 Brussels

Tel: + 32 2 513 57 77

e-mail: katja.mader@isfe.eu