VIRTUAL WORLD CHILD-FRIENDLY?

like Chucky.

“My little boy has nightmares about the characters in the game – he dreams of clowns and Chucky.

“I allow him to play other games on Roblox as there are hundreds of games and some of them are good to play like Superhero Tycoon.

“Some have not got horror or advertisements in death or killing.

“I think the game rating needs to be looked at as well as some of the other games on there.

“Some games are really not suitable for children to play like Chucky or the clown.

“They have trouble getting off the game and you don’t know who they are talking to.

“You have children on there that swear and use abusive language.

“They become addicted to the game and want to play it all the time.”

In January, WalesOnline reported that parents had been warned about other dangers associated with Roblox.

At the time concerns were raised about children being approached by strangers online and receiving inappropriate messages with characters doing “very adult things” in the virtual world.

Dyfed-Powys Police said there has been no observed increase in reports of any incidents regarding the online game Roblox but the force’s Digital Communication and Cyber Crime Unit (DCCU) has issued a general warning to parents about children using online games with facilities.

Detective Constable Gareth Jordan said: “With any interactive game, the danger is always there that new people can join at any time and pretend to be someone they’re not.

“Parents need to be constantly vigilant of what their children are up to and should take the time to understand the games their children are playing.

“A parent would not let their child go to the park on their own at a young age without first accompanying them and setting some rules on not talking to strangers or how to cross the road safely.

“The same thinking should apply when allowing a child to play an online game.

“There need to be rules in place and consideration given to accompanying them online for the first few times while they find their feet and learn how to play the game safely.

“If a parent feels they’ve seen evidence of grooming occurring, they should take screenshots, capture as many details about the characters involved, including a script of what has been said and contact police immediately by calling 101.”

Also troubling some parents is the possibility of children becoming addicted to the games.

In June, Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan called out parents for not limiting the amount of time children are allowed to spend live chat playing games .

He described it as a “parental issue” and said parents shouldn’t be afraid to take the games away if children start to become addicted.

On the show he said: “Limit it to 30 minutes a day. Set boundaries and keep them.

“Don’t let these little brats demand to do it for 10 hours a day all night long because that’s what they become – brats.”

Game user Brian Irving said Roblox can become addictive when asked about issues surrounding the game.

But he said lots of online games are similar, which can lead to them becoming time consuming and expensive.

He said: “Roblox is the same as lots of other online games – it can be addictive and costly.

“Dangers – yes there are some if you let your children play and you have paid for one thing then unless you are watching them all the time they can buy anything in the game and very soon drain your credit card or bank account.

“As with every online game you can play these for free.

“I play lots of online games when I am at home and have three or four hours to spare.

“But it’s my choice – I’m 62 and I find online gaming better than spending time and money in a pub.

“One bit of advice is, if you are going to let children play these games, set a time limit and get them a prepaid card with only a few pounds on it.

“Let them know if they want to play this game it has to be under your rules.

“There are good points and bad points from playing online games.

“In one game I play there are people that never spend any cash and only play at weekends, but there are others that I know have spent over £40,000 and are still playing and spending.

“But it’s their choice and they can afford it.”

According to the Roblox website, the game offers parental controls that mean you can limit who your children can talk to while playing.

It also says you can set restrictions so that children under the age of 13 can only play a set list of age-appropriate games.

On the website, the company says it is at the “forefront” of community safety.

A notice on the Roblox website reads: “We protect our players’ safety by pro-actively filtering inappropriate content and acting against anyone who is in violation of our rule of conduct. All uploaded images, video and audio files are pre-reviewed by moderators before being allowed on the site. Our global moderation team is also online around the clock addressing any incoming concerns as reported by players.”

A Roblox spokesman said: “Roblox’s mission is to inspire imagination and it is our responsibility to provide a safe and civil platform for play.

“As safety is our top priority, we have robust systems in place to protect our platform and users.

“This includes automated technology to track and monitor all communication between our players as well as a large team of moderators who work around the clock to review all the content uploaded into a game and investigate any inappropriate activity.

“We provide parental controls to empower parents to create the most appropriate experience for their child, and we provide individual users with protective tools, such as the ability to block another player.

“The incident involved one bad actor that was able to subvert our protective systems and exploit one instance of a game running on a single server.

“We have zero tolerance for this behaviour and we took immediate action to identify how this individual created the offending action and put safeguards in place to prevent it from happening again. In addition, the offender was identified and permanently banned from the platform.

“Our work on safety is neverending and we are committed to ensuring that one individual does not get in the way of the millions of children who come to Roblox to play, create and imagine.”