I'm working on a new column for BusinessWeek Online about virtual paper dolls and their popularity with tween and teen girls. I did an email interview with Craig Sherman, the CEO of Gaia Online, and an avatar community that has been buzzed about by several leading tech blogs in the past two weeks after their Web 2.0 Expo appearance. I think Gaia seems to have the right combination of mange/comic book appeal, avatars and virtual gaiaonline gold to attract and hook teens. I think they're probably less "paper doll" and fashion oriented and appeal more to the manga fan boys/girls -- and as Ypulse readers know, manga is huge. I was at Borders in the Chicago suburb of LaGrange and watched as teens wandered in and out of the manga section. One of Craig's responses really struck me -- he said the most popular activity on Gaia is the forums. It's funny with all the Web 2.0 hoopla, that forums, which have been around forever, continue be the most popular community feature. 

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