Young people's participation in the online world of digital culture is one of th

e fastest and most efficient means by which they become proficient in the manage
ment of ICTs, and in the new literacies emerging there. In a predominantly male
field, however, less is known about what characterises and contributes to young
women's successful participation in online popular culture. This paper reports o
n a small project investigating the gendered dimensions of teenagers engagement i
n and out of school with stand alone and multiplayer computer games. The project
had two foci: (i) the proposition that that there are gender related significan
tly different patterns of engagement both with different forms of new media (Kre
ss 2000) and with the out-of-school digital culture through which so much of you
ng people s familiarity and expertise with the new media is acquired (Cassells and
Jenkins, Meredyth) and (ii) the argument that the changing nature of literacy i
n the contexts of ICTs requires traditional school subjects concerned with liter
acy curriculum to be reconceptualised. The initial aim of the project was to ide
ntify characteristics of successful girl game players, and to consider ways in w
hich they might be utilised in the production of English/literacy curriculum for
both boys and girls. Information that helps teachers and systems design curricu
lum that engages productively with ICT-based texts and literacies is significant
for schools and systems seeking to imagine and anticipate how literacy communic
ation and curriculum might effectively be reconfigured in the networked society
(Castells). The project was thus centrally concerned with the gaming practices o
f girls and young women who saw themselves as capable and competent players of c
omputer games. In relation to curriculum, it sought to generate understandings a
bout what characterises young women's successful participation in computer games
and hence, to gain insights into ways in which curriculum utilising ICTs might
more productively create hospitable environments, activities and opportunities f
or girls. A second concern was to explore intersections between ICTs, digital cu
lture and imagined possibilities more generally for curriculum renewal and Engli
sh, and to contribute to debates about the future of English, and the reconfigur
ation of curriculum subjects in the present times. Thirdly, the project sought t
o extend understandings of intersections between game playing, community and ide
ntity, with implications for debates around connectedness and engagement for you
ng people, and the ways in which schools might build stronger connections betwee
n young people s worlds, schools and the curriculum. The project was carried out i
n two locations: a year eight English classroom in a mixed Victorian secondary s
chool, and a suburban internet (LAN) caf which was a specialist centre in Melbour
ne for clan wars and competitions around the game Counterstrike.