Sony's G.I.R.L. Power

Gone are the days when gaming was strictly for teenaged boys. As the gaming industry continues to grow, more and more game developers are catering their products to the once-overlooked female gamer demographic. Making up roughly 40% of all gamers, that's a hefty user-base.

But how is the gender gap faring on the other side of the screen? According to game publisher Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), the perception isn't so rosy. In a survey of female students enrolled in game-related programs at The Art Institute, over 60% agreed that unequal gender representation was a considerable deterrent to pursuing a career in game design. Guess the old boy's club is still members-only.

But not for long. On April 1, SOE is launching a scholarship program intended to level the playing field and give an aspiring female developer an opportunity to get into the game. Dubbed G.I.R.L. (Gamers In Real Life), the program will give one student a $10,000 tuition scholarship towards her game education as well as a paid internship at SOE.

"It's no secret to female gamers: Women are out there in significant numbers, playing MMOs, action games, and first-person shooters. What is lacking in the equation are women behind these games, and we hope G.I.R.L. can help support this program," said Torrie Dorrell, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing at SOE.

Best known for massively multiplayer games like Everquest and Star Wars: Galaxies, the publisher is practicing what it preaches. Its next big MMO, a spy-thriller called The Agency, features a development team with a strong female presence. More information can be found at http://www.girl.soe.com/.

Girls at Play

Sony Online is hardly the only female-friendly game maker out there. Check out these six superlative games designed, developed or produced by women.

Aveyond 1 and 2

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Amanda Fitch, founder and lead game designer for small indie games studio Amaranth Games, created this extremely popular role-playing series.

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Portal

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Multiple Game of the Year winner Portal might be the most inspiring story ever for amateur game designers, beginning life as a senior project by students at DigiPen University. Valve Software was so impressed by the game's amazing space-bending mechanic, it brought the entire team onboard full-time to create Portal, including game co-creator Kim Swift.

Diner Dash

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Often imitated but never duplicated, this massive casual game franchise is the best thing to happen to fast food since the Dollar menu. You can thank Playfirst's talented team of designers for that, primarily game designer Michelle Woods and producer Solveig Pederson.

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Assassin's Creed

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Ubisoft's stealthy killer wasn't lead producer Jade Raymond's first major game - that honor goes to The Sims Online - but it was certainly her biggest, selling over 5 million copies.

Jojo's Fashion Show

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Runway fanatics met their matching outfits with this recent casual smash, which was produced by Catherine Herdlick and her team at prolific casual game developer Gamelab.

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Heavenly Sword

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Featuring one of the toughest female protagonists in the history of gaming, this PS3 action extravaganza's success can be credited to Nina Kristensen, co-founder of acclaimed development studio Ninja Theory.