Planet Orange Re-launches for ING Direct

Kids can perform virtual space missions that teach them about money at the new Planet Orange from virtual bank ING Direct.

According to a recent Harris Interactive survey, more than 27% of U.S. parents admitted that they would rather talk to their kids about sex and dating than about money and finances. Now ING Direct, the nation’s largest virtual bank and part of the ING Group, has weighed in to help parents who get tongue-tied about money talk with a redesign of their virtual Web site teaching the basics about budgets, savings and investment.

By signing up at Planet Orange children in grades one through six can learn about these finance basics through “space missions” and engaging games and activities, jetting among four different worlds. They can personalize both their avatar and the space station he or she lives in, spend virtual money (“Obux”) to upgrade their surroundings and equipment, and even earn extra Obux by performing jobs around the planet such as sorting recycling.

The original Planet Orange site was launched in 2002 and won several awards for Web design. But the redesigned site includes more interactive games and more resources for parents and teachers, reflecting both heightened user expectations on today’s Web and greater interest in having kids learn money fundamentals.

An ongoing lesson on Planet Orange is the importance of budgeting and of paying for essentials—for example, fuel for your rocket ship—before gratifying wishes for things like a space scooter. Other lessons teach about banking, credit and interest, inflation, all the way up to portfolio diversification.

Separate sections show educators how to structure classroom lessons around the activities on the Web site and inform parents about the site’s privacy policies. These include collecting only the child’s first name, grade level, state, gender, and astronaut name and password, along with a parent’s e-mail address so administrators can send a notice that a child has registered.

“to improve our kids’ financial futures, parents and educators must have the resources to start teaching money-saving lessons at an early age,” ING Direct president Arkady Kuhlmann said in a release. “Nine out of 10 parents and teachers who visited www.OrangeKids.com told us they felt confident in using the adventures to teach children about money.”

Founded in 2000, ING Direct is the nation’s largest direct bank and largest thrift bank, offering services over the Internet, phone, ATM and by mail without any brick-and-mortar branch offices. ING Direct also operates in Australia, Canada, and throughout Europe and the U.K.