So, the Whirlms hook up and a stork delivers a baby worm, at which point a sparrow enters the town. Now, we haven' t actually seen this happen, but rumor has it, that before you can get the sparrows to get ' dey freak on do the romance dance, you have to sacrifice one of your worms to them! You have to sacrifice one of your own family of worms to appease the bird gods! And Microsoft wants kids to make these ethical choices. Should my fictional six-year-old son Dutch sacrifice the worm he bred, named and drew a tag on (Ally) so that two unnamed Sparrowmints can shake it up? Is this a video game or Sophie' s Choice?

Viva Pinata is more than pinata-life simulator; it' s an experiment in ethics. And this fall six to eight year-olds and 25 year-olds with the brain capacity of six to eight year olds (us) are in for a treat and an ethics lesson.