KOL Product Summary

TM
TM
INTRODUCING THE KOL™
SERVICE – THE NEW AOL KIDS ONLINE SERVICE.
FOCUSED ON PROVIDING KIDS WITH AN ENTERTAINING, FUN AND SAFER EXPERIENCE
ONLINE.
Kids are among the fastest growing online audience in Canada.
79% of Canadian kids have Internet access at home.
75% of Parents are “strongly” or “somewhat” fearful that their children might be communicating with inappropriate people
over the Internet.
52% of parents think an Internet service provider that provides access only to content suitable for families would be a very
effective measure. (Source: Media Awareness Network)
AOL Canada is introducing the new KOL™ service, the first version of the AOL® service designed
entirely for kids aged 6-12, and the KOL JR™ service, a customized version of the AOL service for preschoolers and their parents.
Upon embarking on its mission to develop an expanded groundbreaking online service just for kids, AOL
conducted extensive consumer research and studied what parents and children wanted most, talked to them
about what AOL could offer to enhance their online experience and then translated that into the relevant
features and content in the KOL service. With a focus on fun and entertainment, the KOL service gives kids
their own online world – not just one channel on their Mom’s and Dad’s AOL service – that is integrated with
AOL Parental Controls™ and comes with special protections for a safer and more secure online environment.
Launched as part of AOL 9.0, the newest version of the AOL software, the KOL service is the most
comprehensive step AOL has ever taken to provide a full online experience just for kids that allows them to
customize their Welcome Screen, toolbar and Buddy List® feature with special desktop themes and innovative
navigation effects. An array of new kids-only features are organized into “worlds” according to their top
interests – music, sports, entertainment, fashion, news, homework help, toys and creating, as well as their own
hangout area for friends – to inspire kids as they play, discover and explore online.
As part of the KOL service, kids will get a wide selection of exclusive content from popular brands including
Sports Illustrated for Kids, Time for Kids and DC Comics. The CBC resources are on hand to help with
Homework Help, and to make it not all work but also some play, kids can access CBC’s online games.
In addition, the service also highlights a number of original new features produced just for the KOL service,
including 45 new interactive games, a specially commissioned interactive storybook, Celebrity Diaries from
popular kids’ stars, and animated cartoon shorts such as an anthology of a character called “Princess Natasha”.
FEATURES THAT BRING THE KOL SERVICE TO LIFE INCLUDE:
CUSTOMIZED KIDS’ DESKTOP THEMES: The unique KOL experience starts at the desktop where kids
can decide what they want their service to look like. They can express their interests and personality by
choosing from a range of customized themes, including “Space”, “Ocean”, “Jungle”, “Hypertech” and “Style”.
Each graphically rich theme changes the entire appearance of the KOL service and incorporates unique
navigation that lets kids explore “worlds” of content and features – turning browsing into a fun journey. For
example, the “Space” design puts kids in front of the command centre of a spaceship, and the “Jungle” theme
incorporates a compass that kids use to move around the service.
< with KOL, kids can express
their interests and personality
by choosing from a range of
customized themes.
GAMES, GAMES, GAMES – KOL Games offers kids a fun and unique online games experience that lets
them build their own Online Games Arena for quick access to their favourites. The service also offers 45 new
and original games created exclusively for the KOL service such as Mimic the Monkey, Connect 9 and
Funwordz. Kids will also find favourites from trusted names like Sports Illustrated for Kids. Video gamers can
get the latest scoop on what’s new for their consoles, with hints, previews, reviews and more to get the inside
track.
100
< KOL Games offers 45 new
and original games created
exclusively for the KOL
service!
INTERACTIVE STORYBOOK – For the first time ever, AOL has commissioned a storybook especially for
the Web. Kids can check out new episodes of the O5™ interactive storybook and follow the adventures of five
freshman superheroes who are learning about their unique powers and family histories.
< KOL includes interactive
storybooks specifically
created for AOL called “o5”.
KIDS’ OWN HANGOUT – Kids can enjoy AOL’s popular community features in a virtual Hangout area that
lets them interact with other kids within the protected and monitored environment of the KOL service. Kids can
sound off in kids-only message boards, vote in polls, rate their favourites, take quizzes, post opinions, and much
more … all in one, fun, chatty place.
< the KOL hangout lets kids
interact within a protected and
monitored environment.
HOMEWORK HELP - When they're stumped, kids can tap into a collection of online resources or even AskA-Teacher where kids of all education levels can get online help from real teachers. Information is organized
by subject, and there’s an extensive collection of online reference books to help answer the toughest questions.
CREATE IT – A special area where kids can express their own creativity, design self-expressions, display and
share pictures, learn to draw, and send online greetings to family and friends.
< the KOL create it area
encourages kid’s to express
their creativity.
KOL ENTERTAINMENT – Kids can see exclusive premieres and access news, reviews and behind-thescenes celebrity gossip while interacting with other fans on the KOL service. They can check out KOL’s First
Look, First Listen, First View and Inside the DVD features for exclusive previews of upcoming movies, DVDs,
music videos and songs. In addition, kids can catch up on the latest from their favourite celebs, read exclusive
KOL Celebrity Diaries, and enjoy original programming created just for KOL, including the adventures of
Princess Natasha and Kung Fu Academy.
< AOL offers kids exclusive
entertainment features and the
inside scoop on their favourite
celebrities, music and movies.
BOOKSHELF – Kids get cool comics from MAD Magazine and DC Comics, including a never-seen-before
year-long online Batman comic strip created exclusively for KOL by DC Comics, the latest episode from
KOL’s O5™ interactive story and exclusive AOL First Reads of the coolest new books.
< KOL kids get access to kids
magazines, books, exclusive
comic strips and AOL First
Reads.
FASHION & BEAUTY – Being cool is about creating your own style that makes you shine. The KOL service
offers a place for kids to see new fashions, rate new trends, and see highlights of celebrity looks. They can test
new looks by mixing and matching outfits on virtual paper dolls, experiment with virtual makeup and see
what’s in the stars with fun horoscopes.
< The KOL service offers
kids the chance to preview
new fashions and see
celebrity looks, as well as
testing their own style on
virtual paper doll.
“THE BIG RED BUTTON” – The KOL service is full of tempting features and special effects just waiting for
kids to find. For fun, kids can click on the “big red button” that appears on each theme on the service. You
never know what’s going to happen …
< The KOL service includes
hidden features and special
effects activated by clicking
on different parts of the
screen.
KOL JR.™ SERVICE – AOL’S CUSTOMIZED PROGRAMMING FOR PRE-SCHOOL KIDS
Making it easy and fun for parents to explore together with young children ages 2-5
For parents of younger children and pre-schoolers ages 2-5, AOL Canada has introduced the new KOL JR.™
service, a virtual online playground of bright colours, big buttons, special activities and games – organized by
skill set – to make it easy and fun for parents to explore together with younger children, helping them discover
new things. Both parents and kids will enjoy the interactive bedtime stories and favourite animated characters
who bring the service to life. Highlights include:
INTERACTIVE “BEDTIME STORIES” – Classic bedtime stories spring to life through this unique online
feature that lets everyone enjoy family reading time in a whole new way. Popular children’s books are
transformed into dynamic online stories, and books are read by some of the top voice talent in the industry, like
Tom Kenny (voice of SpongeBob Square Pants) and Jill Tally.
INNOVATIVE DESIGN – The KOL JR. service has a design that looks like a musical pop-up book. The
centre of the innovative layout is an interactive TV screen-like area in which animated characters wave at and
welcome kids while they are online. Along the right side are big buttons that rotate between alphabet letters,
numbers, animals and symbols, which activate sounds when pressed.
--------------------------------------
AVAILABILITY:
Both the KOL and KOL JR. services are available at no additional charge to AOL members who have Screen
Names on AOL 9.0, the latest version of the AOL software. For the KOL service, kids need to be on a Kids
Only account, set up through AOL Parental Controls. To access the KOL JR. service, kids can be on a Parent’s
account. Some content from the KOL service will also be available to members on other versions of the AOL
service.
OPTIMIZED FOR BROADBAND:
While the features of the KOL service can be accessed through a dial-up connection, kids who access the AOL
service through a high-speed connection can enjoy more rich multimedia and video content, including the latest
music videos, more secret facts and games from the O5 gang, special animated surprises from “The Big Red
Button”, exclusive edutainment offerings and flash content, including games and stories made exclusively for
the KOL service.
INTEGRATED WITH AOL PARENTAL CONTROLS:
The KOL service is fully integrated with AOL’s industry-leading Parental Controls and parents can utilize all of
AOL’s built-in safety and security features to help keep their kids safer online.
AOL Parental Controls lets kids enjoy the world of the KOL service, while allowing parents to determine what
types of experiences are appropriate for their child and to set specific levels of online access.
Parental Controls help put parents in control with such features as AOL® Guardian, which enables them to
keep tabs on their child’s online activities while logged into the AOL service through e-mail reports, and
preferences that will allow children to only view mail from people they know. Additionally, parents can
determine whether or not to enable instant messaging capabilities for their child. In addition, a new IM control
lets parents accept or deny access for their child to enhanced instant messages that may include video, file and
image sharing.
In addition, AOL’s Internet Access Controls help parents restrict access to external browsers or other Internet
access programs – like file sharing software. An Online Timer® lets parents control how much time their
children spend on the AOL service. And the new Web Unlock feature allows both kids and teens to request
access to specific sites and parents can decide whether or not to allow access.
For more information about
AOL Canada Inc., please contact:
Becky Bolt
Public Relations Manager
[email protected]
416-960-6605
www.aol.ca