When I first heard about Beanie Babies 2.0, I thought for sure they would be better than Webkinz. I've collected Beanie Babies since I was little. Now that I've played with both of these stuffed animals, there are things I like and dislike about each of them.

Beanies Babies 2.0

What I Like:

I still think that Beanie Babies 2.0 makes much cuter looking stuffed animals by far. The price of the animals are cheaper, only $7. The best feature of the online Beanie Babies 2.0 site is the ability to do regular chatting with your friends. You do have to get parent permission first. I like the games on the site, but there are not as many available as on the Webkinz site. I expect they will be adding more.

What I Dislike:

You can't dress your animals and buy stuff for them online like you can with Webkinz. You also can't customize your Beanie Babies 2.0 house. I don't like that you have to buy more animals and collect them to play more games and unlock places like the barnyard, backyard and the hole.

Webkinz

What I Like:

I really like that you can customize everything on this site. You can buy hats and clothes. You can also buy a new room, furniture and a yard for your house. Webkinz also allows you to pick a theme for your house, like a beach, high tech or pink theme.

There are a lot more games available on Webkinz. There's a school where you can teach your webkinz to do more and earn badges. Badges show what you've accomplished on the site and sometimes they allow you to unlock stuff. The Webkinz site has jobs you can do, and you can earn money and buy more stuff for your webkinz.

Webkinz does have chat rooms. You have choices of themed chat rooms too. You can go in the game room to play games, or the sports room to play sports with your friends.

What I Dislike:

The worst thing about Webkinz is the safe chat. There is no option for open chat with your friends even with parent permission. You only have a choice to use the sayings that are programmed in the chat. I don't really like that the hourly activities and special events don't start until after 4 pm. If you get home from school earlier or have a school holiday, you still have to wait to play these. On webkinz, the games are harder to earn points, but everything else on the site is really cool.

I think all kids should try both Beanie Babies 2.0 and Webkinz. We all like certain things online and different kinds of games. You have to see for yourself whether you prefer one over the other. Give them both a try and leave a comment on this lens to tell me what you think.

Beanie Babies 2.0 retail between $6-$7 each. Here are a few places where you can buy Beanie Babies 2.0:

Amazon.com
Hallmark stores
Borders Books
Petsmart
Drug stores like Walgreens, Longs and Osco

Ty's Beanie Babies 2.0 website also has a store locator at http://www.beaniebabies20.com.

Webkinz dominates the interactive pet market online, but that may not be the case for long. The Webkinz craze caught on with very little advertising. Children spread the word from child to child on school playgrounds. Friends were helping other friends get signed onto the Webkinz website. Children sent their parents and grandparents searching from store to store for new Webkinz.

Still, children today are very computer savvy. They have a variety of online games to choose from as well as video games. PC games, internet games, Wii games and Ninetendo DS games are just a few competing for their attention. Only the games that continue to change and intrigue children will continue to grow in popularity. So far, Webkinz has proven they know what children want.

Will Beanie Babies 2.0 be able to compete in this market? We'll have to watch and see. So far, Webkinz has a firm hold on the online virtual pet world. A close competitor is Club Penguin. Club Penguin differs from Webkinz and Beanie Babies 2.0 in that they don't require a retail stuffed animal purchase to play. Club Penguin is free, but to advance in your game play you need to purchase a $6 monthly membership.

Only time will tell who wins the long-term attention of our children. Will it be Beanie Babies 2.0, Webkinz, Club Penguin or another newcomer?