National Geographic and kids social networking site Imbee have teamed up to facilitate communication between tweens aged 8-14 by creating a world-conscious online community. The website, National Geographic Kids Group, will feature blogs, videos, music, images, chatting, eco-tips and e-mail targeted at kids who are concerned with the environment.

Betsy Scolnik, president of National Geographic Digital Media, said "There’s something powerful about giving kids the tools to express themselves and to share common interests such as a love of animals and the environment that National Geographic represents. We hope that by using the social-networking tools that imbee.com provides, kids who visit our National Geographic Kids site can connect with other kids online who are inspired to care about the planet and the people, places and animals on it, in a safe, kid-friendly way."

The site also features content on animal, plant, and insect life, geography, science, and culture, and is highly controlled and secure so that the site remains safe for children. There’s also updates from the National Geographic Kids Hands-On Explorer Challenge, which led a group of 15 kids to South Africa in August 2007, and features their blogs and photos.

Overall, this site still has room to grow, but it’s a safe alternative to the MySpace/Facebook phenomenon. I appreciated the overlapping content with National Geographic Kids–the latter’s got phenomenal green stuff for the tween set. It’s worth checking out if you’ve got a kid who loves the environment and the computer.