My 10 year old daughter has dozens of diaries. Not that she ever uses any of them other than for scribbling in. Still people keep buying them for her, probably just because they're cheap, and would be good value for money if they were ever used.



The latest diary she has been given is My Secret World by Imagine for the DS. This was a freebie that came with her new DS (after losing the last DS for several months, only for it to turn up two days after we bought her a new one). Maybe the extra interactivity included with this diary will actually encourage her to use it we thought. Well occasionally she has written "hello" on some of its pages, but not much else.

The first thing you notice when starting My Secret World by Imagine is the everything is sideways so you need to turn the DS around. This gives the title more of a physical diary feel and it is a nice touch. It's also nice that you require a passcode to use the diary, so you really can keep secrets on it. You can even put an extra password over a single page or, unusually, even a single word. That lets you show your diary to your friends without them seeing the name of your crush.

Strangely the avatars in the game can be created as male or female, but if it is your personal avatar, it can only be female. I understand that it is aimed at girls but it is as if they want to discourage boys from using it all together.

As we know young people often love customising their stuff. From mobile phone ring tones, to myspace pages, to bedroom walls. This is why customising your diary is one of the main purposes of Imagine: My Secret World. So even if the diary isn't used for writing about your boyfriend troubles, it will probably look nice (nice in the eyes of the person that customised it anyway). It can be customised with colours, design and by placing stickers everywhere and also creating a look for your avatar.

When you use My Secret World by Imagine for the first time you need to fill out your biography. What are your likes dislikes favourite animal and that sort of thing. This information can be shared with friends using the Wi-Fi connection (or by speaking to them if you prefer).

Once you do this you unlock the first quiz. The quiz is actually a personality test which asks probing questions about the likes of borrowing your sister's clothes or if you like to wear make-up. At the end of the test you are given a description of your personality.

Once this is done you can unlock the first mini-game. In this game the player must copy and imagine from one screen to the other by placing stickers in the correct places. It is a poorly thought out and dull challenge but completing it unlocks the next quiz, and the cycle continues until all 4 games have been unlocked.

As an adult male, I see it hard to understand the appeal of Imagine: My Secret World. When I saw how my 10 year old girl enjoyed the title however... I am still of the same opinion, as she gave up on it even quicker than I did. And three weeks later she hasn't used it since.