This week's Best Gamesville Avatar was created by Etsu_mom of Kingsport, TN (pictured at left).

Etsu_mom says: "My avatar represents myself as a child that actually dressed and looked much like my avatar that I have on Gamesville. I have been a member for quite some time and love most of the games. My favorites are Bubble Popper, Magic 21, and Mah Jongg. I am a stay at home mom and love chatting and have made some friends online playing these wonderful games. Thanks!"

Think you have the Best Gamesville Avatar?

Shine up your Gamesville Avatar, then send your Gamesville member name to: members@gamesville.com We'll check out your avatar and see if it has was it takes to be Best Gamesville Avatar.

Be sure to include a little bit about yourself and your Gamesville Avatar with your entry, so we can understand that special connection between you and your Gamesville Avatar.

If we publish you as "Best Gamesville Avatar", we'll give you 500 GV Rewards.

Don't have a Gamesville Avatar yet? Create your FREE Gamesville Avatar now!

This week's Best Pet is from Calgary, AB, Canada.

Useless Fact: Colonel James F. Macleod named Calgary after a Gaelic word thought to mean "Clear Running Water." However, during the 1975 centennial celebration, historian Dr. George F. G. Stanley discovered that the city's namesake actually meant "Cove Garden". At any rate, "Calgary" is a much better name than the original choice, "Fort Brisebois". Thanks, calgary-convention.com!

Pet Name:
Tika

Pet Owner:
Gamesviller "Stowaway"

View Stowaway's Profile
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Distinguishing Personality Traits:
Stowaway says: "Our little girl, Tika, was sound asleep on her first day to her new home at our house. Her favorite toy was larger than she was. She is now 9 months old and when she is away from her "pack" (a Golden Retriever and two papillion chihuahua crosses), she howls like a wolf--you would think she was a huge dog if you heard her, but she weighs under 3 lbs."

Want to share photos of your own favorite pet with the Gamesville community?

Send photos to: members@gamesville.com

In addition to your pet's picture, please include:

• your member name
• your pet's most distinguishing personality trait

Please note: All submissions become the sole property of Gamesville, which reserves the right to hold, reject and/or edit submissions without notice and without limitation in perpetuity.

If you're having trouble playing Gamesville games on Microsoft Vista (and even some models of Windows XP) and you've tried installing/reinstalling Sun Java and clearing your Java cache, then you may want to consider using Microsoft Java instead of Sun Java.

Below are instructions on how to install Microsoft Java if your computer does not already come equipped with it, or if your version of Microsoft Java has become corrupted.

To use Microsoft Java, you first need to disable Sun Java.

1. Open up Internet Explorer and go to the Tools menu.
2. Select "Internet Options". Go to the "Advanced" tab and scroll down until you see "Java (Sun)" or something similar. Uncheck the box. Click the "Apply" button. Then press "OK".
3. Now you're ready to install your new Microsoft Java.

To install Microsoft Java...

1. ... you need to first download the Microsoft Java VM. Try downloading and installing it from one of the following links--but please be advised, we are in no way affiliated with, nor responsible for, the content on the following sites and strongly advise scanning this software to be safe:
   • http://www.abxair.com/software/msjavx86.exe
   • http://www.hi-teach.com/infohub/help.htm
   • http://java-virtual-machine.net/download.html
2. Download the MS Java file to your desktop and scan the file for malware.
3. Double click the file, named "msjavx86.exe", and click "Install" when prompted.
4. After the file is installed, your computer will ask you to restart. Click "Yes".
5. After your computer restarts, start Internet Explorer and go to the Tools menu.
6. Select "Internet Options". Go to the "Advanced" tab and scroll down until you see "Microsoft VM". Make sure all three boxes are checked. You can see a preview of how your options should look here:



7. Click the "Apply" button, then click the "OK" button.
8. Close all your Internet Explorer windows, then open Internet Explorer back up.
9. Go to Gamesville.com and select any of our Free Games to play.

You're now using the Microsoft Java VM. If you still experience problems after doing this, please contact customer service and be sure to reference this article.

Please be advised: We are currently experiencing technical difficulties that are preventing many of you from connecting to the free online games. Download games and Cash Competitions are not affected by this outage.

Our top people are working on this issue, and hope to have it resolved soon. We thank you for your patience, and apologize for the inconvenience.

Update (6:48PM EST): The issues related to this outage have been resolved, and connectivity should now be restored for everyone. If you're still experiencing issues, please let us know. Thank you again for your patience, and for your patronage. 

This week's Best Gamesville Avatar was created by Icefiresm of Fairbanks, AK (pictured at left).

Icefiresm says: "My avatar shows several sides of my personality. My upper body features, along with the white hair, represent my age (a young 52). My schoolgirl outfit is representive of my job (school) and my playful side. The ball and chain doesn't represent marriage; if anything, I'm pretty much dedicated to my job(the kids and long hours) ... which is the reason I have no "real" social life and the reason why I can be found most of the time playing "Frantic Fish" or popping bubbles on "Bubble Popper". The fire background represents my mischievous side and the angel halo is representive of my passionate nature towards my charity, my family, my work, my friends, and life in general."

Think you have the Best Gamesville Avatar?

Shine up your Gamesville Avatar, then send your Gamesville member name to: members@gamesville.com We'll check out your avatar and see if it has was it takes to be Best Gamesville Avatar.

Be sure to include a little bit about yourself and your Gamesville Avatar with your entry, so we can understand that special connection between you and your Gamesville Avatar.

If we publish you as "Best Gamesville Avatar", we'll give you 500 GV Rewards.

Don't have a Gamesville Avatar yet? Create your FREE Gamesville Avatar now!

Congratulations are in order: Yesterday, auricman of Niagara Falls, NY, won a whopping $3,249 playing Magic 21. Nicely done!

Useless Fact: The famed Niagara Falls are actually composed of three distinct waterfalls: the American Falls (between Prospect Point and Luna Island); the Bridal Veil Falls (between Luna Island and Goat Island); and Canadian/Horseshoe Falls (between Goat Island and Table Rock). Check out some pictures.

Bonus Useless Fact:  Today is the 50th anniversary of Leave It To Beaver. Perhaps tonight we'll have some squab for dinner to celebrate the occasion!

This week's Best Pet duo is from LaPorte, IN. Useless fact: "La Porte" is French for "the Door"; the town was so named in the 1670's by the French explorers and settlers who made use of the area's wide Indian trail that passed through the forest to the next prairie.

Pet Names:
Holly and Gracie

Pet Owner:
Gamesviller "Heims111"

View Heims111's Profile
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Distinguishing Personality Traits:
Heims111 says: "These are my girls, Holly and Gracie. They are my pride and joy, and each one has their own personality. Holly is the instigator and Gracie is all girl."

Want to share photos of your own favorite pet with the Gamesville community?

Send photos to: members@gamesville.com

In addition to your pet's picture, please include:

• your member name
• your pet's most distinguishing personality trait

Please note: All submissions become the sole property of Gamesville, which reserves the right to hold, reject and/or edit submissions without notice and without limitation in perpetuity.

Want to use your Gamesville Avatar as your instant messenger buddy icon or add your Gamesville Avatar to your web page? How about use your Gamesville Avatar as your cell phone wallpaper? Now you can!

Sign into the Gamesville Avatar Creator and download your avatar in four different sizes, for all kinds of occasions!

The first person to send us a picture of their avatar as their cell phone wallpaper wins 5,000 GV Rewards--so get cracking! Send your picture to members@gamesville.com with the subject line "Avatar Cell Phone".