Children's game Habbo Hotel exposed as 'forum of pornographic chat'

London, June 13 (ANI): An online game popular among teenagers, Habbo Hotel, has been exposed as a forum 'filled with pornographic chat' by a TV investigation.

The investigation carried out by Channel 4 News producer Rachel Seifert for two months, using the site posing as a 13 year-old, found that Habbo Hotel was host to highly sexual exchanges.

"The chat was very sexual, perverse, violent, pornographic, overtly sexual acts, people saying they were going to do things to others, and it was very graphic," he Telegraph quoted Seifert as saying.

"I was within a couple of minutes asked to strip, fully naked, and asked what would I do on a webcam," she added.

Seifert played the game 50 times and on each occasion had similar experiences.

Children as young as eight are believed to be using the site, which last month, according to online audience measurement company, Quantcast, attracted 291,000 British teenagers.

John Carr, a child safety expert and consultant, also played the game with the Channel 4 News producer and within minutes, was send a friend request from an avatar called 'DirtyBoii' messaging: "Can I ask u what yr body's like".

The Channel 4 News investigation also found that there have been two recent cases where paedophiles have been convicted for sexually abusing dozens of children who they befriended on Habbo Hotel.

Since the details of Channel 4's investigation have been released, a major European investor, Balderton, in Sulake, Habbo's Finnish parent company has dumped its 13 percent stake in the business. (ANI)

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