The pink, flowery, butterfly-laden site launched Wednesday and targets girls up to age 13, offering videos, contests, IM and e-mail. The site also lets parents control girls' buddy lists and filter content.

The company's founders, three mothers of young girls, want it to be the training-wheels site for tweens before they grow into more sophisticated social networking sites.

"We know they'll be on Facebook and MySpace at some point, and want to be sure we give them the necessary tools here first," said Hilary DeCesare, co-founder and CEO of Girl Ambition, in a .

"We wanted to provide resources to prepare girls to safely use the Internet before they graduate to more advanced sites that present inherent dangers to this vulnerable age group," she explained.

Girl Ambition is not free. A subscription costs US$4.99 per month or $49.90 each year.