CNN recently reported about Wurud, a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who in many ways is just like every teenager. She's into pop music, loves Jesse McCartney, and chats with her friends on the Web. It's just that Wurud also lives in a war zone, where every new day brings with it new danger.

Turns out, Wurud is also a big fan of Zwinky. According to the CNN article, In Zwinky... Wurud says she can escape the war all around her. She likes to shop at the virtual mall for T-shirts, dresses, shoes -- "Everything," she says. "That's so fun!"

Everyone here at Zwinky Headquarters has read about Wurud, and her story really made us realize that Zwinktopia can represent many things to many people. Including some that we hadn't considered before coming across Wurud's story.

Sure, we can all use a break from reality now and then, and Zwinky is certainly a fun escape. But knowing that there are thousands of other Zwinky users like Wurud who are living in parts of the world where violence and unrest is a daily occurence... well, we're more than happy to provide them with a temporary respite from such harsh realities.

If you live in one such area and have ideas on how we can make Zwinky even more fun or useful for you, please drop me a Znote.

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One of the wonderful aspects of Zwinky is the fact that people from every part of the world stop in and visit on a daily basis. Are you from outside the United States? What do you enjoy most about Zwinky? Have you met friends from other parts of the (real) world while in Zwinktopia? Tell me about it!

Stay snacktastic.