Don't judge a game by its cover

He's been accused of promoting violence and eating disorders, but Shropshie computer wizard Chris Evans isn't apologising,

Chris Evans is used to dealing with the media. Earlier this year, he found himself at the centre of a furore when criticism engulfed his controversial website, Miss Bimbo.

The Shropshire-born entrepreneur was vilified by critics who accused him of promoting eating disorders among teen girls and lowering their self-esteem. The attacks, however, washed over him, and a few days ago, he flew to India where he will expand his ever-growing internet empire.

Miss Bimbo is an online virtual fashion game. It is owned and developed by Blouzar Limited, London, a company that Evans owns with his French business partner, Nico Jacquart. There are various levels and goals within the game and the site has a one million-strong worldwide community of fashion-conscious players.

Young women who log on debate subjects related to fashion and modern life, as well as building virtual friendships. They also have to look after their own "Miss Bimbo".

A day in her life may involve her seeking rental property, training for a job, visiting a beauty parlour or look after her pets. She can date older men, have plastic surgery and engage in 'face-offs' against other Bimbos. It is, to all intents and purposes, an supercharged internet tamagotchi.

Miss Bimbo is used to controversy. Media outlets lashed Evans for his decision to let their Bimbos purchase online breast implants. The site was criticised for emphasising looks and for lowering the self esteem of girls and women.

Earlier this year, the website removed the ability to purchase Diet Pills and apologised to the players saying: 'We would also like to sincerely apologise to our players for the media comparison of Miss Bimbo and Paris Hilton'.

Evans has learned valuable lessons from that experience.

He says: "We had some negative publicity because people tend to judge books by a cover on the internet.

"People don't understand the internet. It's new. They see this site called Miss Bimbo and think it's a game targeted at nine-year-olds, encouraging them to become bimbos. They don't get the right end of the stick. They need to go onto the site and register and see what it's about. The truth is that people won't go on these sites unless there is some edginess about them and something that's cool. They don't want to spend time at a Little Miss Sugar Lump site. They want something that's fun." Evans and co have tapped into a rich niche. Their site has 1.1 million users and is growing every day.

Blouzar Ltd has a similarly edgy site, aimed at young men, called Little Hooliganz. It parodies football violence and was inspired by Evans' love of Shrewsbury Town.

Evans says: "You create your own little hooligan. Then you chose your firm, like Shrewsbury Town, or whatever. Then you fight with other hooligans or chat about people. We had some people criticise us, saying we were promoting violence. Of course, we're not. The reality is that people get into our chat forums and debate whether Joe Hart should be in goal for England."

Evans, who is 30, was born in the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and grew up at Rowton, near High Ercall. He attended High Ercall Primary School and Charlton School before obtaining A levels at New College and then graduating from the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne with a 2:1 in European Business Management.

He moved to Japan for three years, where he taught English, before returning to London and setting up a business. Computers weren't in his blood, though, like many other young men, he dabbled with games.

He adds: "I've got to be honest and say I wasn't any good on the computer. I was the Sega Megadrive as a kid, but I was more interested in football and cricket.

"When I returned from Japan, I did various jobs that I didn't really enjoy and I started a couple of other businesses. But then I met Nico, my business partner in Blouzar. He had developed the forerunner to Miss Bimbo, called Ma Bimbo, in France. We started to work together and went from there. He's the technical guy and I'm responsible for the business side, managing the office and marketing."

Blouzar has five full-time employees and two part-time. "It's very profitable," Evans says. In fact, the business is growing at such a rate that Evans is now in India, where he will spend 12 months developing his company. He has plans for more G-Comm games, one that taps into the rock 'n' roll niche and another that will raise money for charity.

"I'm going to be based in Hyderabad, in Andhra Pradesh. It's a great centre for telecommunications and is nicknamed Cyberabad."

Evans is ploughing some of his profits into the local economy, where his company sponsors an orphanage. He is also developing a game that will directly fund the orphanage and has plans to found his own mini-bank. He adds: "The new rock 'n' roll game will be like a musical version of Miss Bimbo, for people who are into their music. Then the orphanage game will be a little like Oliver Twist. People will have their own orphan and they'll have to look after it. The money will go to an orphanage in India."

Some of the profits from Evans' portfolio of internet companies will be used to open a micro credit bank that will lend money at very cheap rates to communities in India or Africa. It's a real case of life imitating art.

Naturally, the well-travelled Evans misses his home county. "I came back in October to see people," he says. "I'm going to be in India for a long time, so I wanted to say goodbye. But I'll be following the fortunes of Shrewsbury Town from Cyberabad."

And, no doubt, Evans family and friends will be following his ever-blossoming fortunes from the comfort of their home computers.