Sensing the existence of this virtually untapped market, the online gaming industry has responded with a bang. This is a major shift for an industry raised on the belief that 'girls don't play games'.

The runaway success of Mattel's 'Barbie's Fashion Designer' (5,00,000 copies sold in the first two months) was an awakening. A few thousand studies later, the truth was out. Fewer females play simply because there are fewer games to interest them. Hormones have nothing to do with it!

"It has been clinically observed that men and women differ in what they expect from a game," says Mumbai-based psychiatrist Komal Sharma. "They communicate, react and think differently, so why shouldn't they play games differently too?"

But what exactly is it that grabs the girls? Action games with female stars? Nope. 87 per cent of Lara Croft's fans from Tomb Raider are boys. A game involving dolls and pink packaging? Or something that hasn't been invented yet?

To get to the answer, companies like Mattel, Purple Moon and Her Interactive launched major global research campaigns. They spoke to kids, toy store owners, teachers and parents. Finally, they examined all research they could get their hands on, including material on play theory, brain-based sex differences, even primate social behaviour - in order to see how it might carry over into the realm of interactive entertainment.

For starters, they found that girls complain about the lack of characters they can identify with, and lack of story narrative. They like characters with which they can imagine having relationships, and topics they can relate to. They also want to explore what they will be like when they grow up. It was also found that while girls often feel their personal lives are boring and like acting out other lives, they do so in familiar settings with characters who behave like people they actually know. They also prefer conflicts that happen in a social realm and involve a group rather than a lone commando up against a huge army.

One study concluded that girls dislike aggressive themes, due to their repetitious nature. They enjoy games that include different activities, online and offline social interaction, intellectual challenges, problem solving and realistic settings. Another study found that girls were not interested in online games because they lacked complexity in plot and character. They are not interested in being 'winners' or 'losers' and they don't care about high scores. They prefer 'open-ended' explorations with flexible environments and varied outcomes.

All findings were integrated into 'Rockett's New School', which could be about a school anywhere from Hawaii to Calcutta for the universality of its virtual environment. It is a 'choose your own adventure' game where each selection Rockett makes determines what scenario will follow. Her choices advance no plot, nor do they rack up scores. They merely affect how well she gets along with others. At the end of the game, Rockett has no score - she stands alone outside the girls' room, with only her 'girl message getter' answering machine to check into.

Similarly, 'Barbie's Fashion Designer' lets you make clothes by choosing styles, patterns and colours onscreen, then printing outfits on special paper-backed fabric. The game is designed to let the user's imagination become the most important part of the experience. You don't lose, always get a second chance, solve real problems and, best of all, there are no guts to be spilled.

Critics argue that these games are mired in the traditional female world of clothes, make-up, social relations and appearance, and are therefore designed to hold a girl back, not propel her forward. Industry advocates, however, point out that there is nothing inherently wrong with traditionally female interests, and note that these interests have been denigrated for far too long.

The games let girls experiment, in a comfortable way, with identity, appearance and communication at an age when these things are extremely important to them. They also familiarise them with computers, the Internet and interactive media. Games like 'Let's Talk About Me' are practically full-blown personal information managers, with address books, calendars, daily planners and other pre-office features built into them.

Some revolutionary, non-sexist alternatives are also making an appearance. These include 'Mia Hamm Soccer Shootout', 'You Can Be A Woman Engineer', 'Time Travellers', 'Road to India', 'Myst' and 'Emergency Room'.

While the Indian gaming industry is still to catch up, many believe that online versions of problem solving games like 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' have a higher repeat audience among females.

Debates on whether girls and women need games designed just for them will continue to rage, with no right or wrong answers. After all, as Brenda Laurel, co-founder of Purple Moon, says: "If this was an easy problem, somebody would have solved it a long time ago."

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