Disappointed with MySpace, Facebook, Xanga? Try Free Online Gaming!

Online gaming is a great way to meet people, make new friends, and do that in a fun and reasonably safe environment. Disappointed by the whole "friends who aren't really friends" experience of social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, or Xanga, a lot of people have turned to online gaming. They enjoy chatting with other players, making friends from all over the globe, and they like the fun of competition playing their favorite games.

There are a number of popular free online game sites, including offerings by MSN, Yahoo, and Free Online Games. A Google search for free online games will deliver what seems like an unlimited number of choices. A personal favorite is POGO.com. This site has great graphics, a broad range of games, and is one of the easiest sites to use. There's no need to download games - every game can be played online, in real time, with real people. If you're feeling a bit anti-social, there's even an option for playing privately and competing against the robot.

Most of the games on the POGO site use Java to run the great graphics programs. Before playing there, it is recommended that you make sure your Java add-on is up to date and you must disable any pop-up blockers on your computer. Have no fear, however. Even in when playing for free on this site, you will not be bombarded with a ton of annoying advertising pop-ups. Even though advertising provides for your free play on the site, ads do not interfere with your play or your fun.

It's easy and free to sign up and play POGO games. The folks at POGO obviously work hard to provide a great gaming experience for everyone - those playing for free and those who purchase a membership. That's evidenced by the site's enormous popularity. The average number of players online at any give time is around 250,000. Unlike some online game sites, which offer a short free trial period and then demand a membership fee to continue, POGO's play for free offer is unlimited. Play all day, every day for weeks, months, even years at absolutely no cost. Many people do just that. Even more, however, pay the small membership fee of $29.95/year - less than the cost of a single used video game for your Wii or x-Box game system.

There are advantages to becoming a paid member. There are no ad interruptions for members. Also, members have exclusive access to an additional 40 games and members-only game rooms. They have the ability to bookmark friends, see when their friends are online, and are able to send messages to one another to schedule meet-ups. Members win and accumulate points for game play and can win cash and prizes. Points can be used to build and customize an avatar (their online persona for the site) and to purchase tickets in daily, weekly, and monthly drawings for additional cash and prizes.

POGO offers board games like Monopoly and Scrabble; card games like Spades and Canasta; casino games like Bingo or Texas Holdem Poker; and, virtual sports like bowling and golf. There's even slot machines and popular puzzle games like Mah Jong and Sudoku. Best of all, even in the single-player games, you have the opportunity to meet, chat with, and make friends from across the U.S. and around the world. People make real friends (some have even found romance) with no work and real fun playing their favorite games.

This site, unlike some of the others, is family friendly, too. Rules prohibiting bad language are strictly enforced and individuals who choose to engage in anti-social or improper behavior find themselves pretty quickly banned from both free and membership play. POGO management does a good job maintaining a site that offers fun for adults as well as young people.

If social networking on MySpace, Facebook, or Bebo has been less than fun and left you disappointed in attempts to make a great circle of new friends, try online gaming at a site like POGO. I've had my membership for two years, made a great group of friends, and enjoyed playing my favorite games.

Online gaming at MSN, Yahoo, and POGO gives me the two things social networking sites never did - friends and fun. If that's what you're looking for, too, give online gaming a shot. You'll probably decide, like I did, to cancel the whole social networking experience and never look back.