Play games, ride rides, solve puzzles, navigate mazes. Get the free software and visit Active Worlds today. The Backdrop scenery will be familiar to you if you are from Birmingham. The quality of build is exceptional and the people you will meet there are very friendly. Once you have experienced something like this you will never go back to a boring text type chat channel again.
Some people ask how safe it is for children.
Take a look at a Teachers Report on her own experiences in Active Worlds.