Forget Verdi, Try Carmen

A software program has blossomed into a multimedia success that kids love -- and that makes them love to learn

What in the world is Carmen Sandiego? Answer: one of the hottest and most successful new tools in the childhood-learning market today. What began six years ago as a mystery-style computer program designed to coax youngsters into using reference books has blossomed into a public television game show, a best-selling set of computer video games, a series of adventure books and a collection of jigsaw puzzles, all popular with kids age eight and up. "It's addictive," says Jonathan Pray, 13, an eighth-grade student in Golden, Colo., who has been prodded by Carmen into memorizing all the world's countries and their capitals.

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