Penpals-net boasts over 35,000 penpals including almost 20,000 that have uploaded their photos.

The front page of the site includes a sort of link exchange which includes some questionable links (be careful not to click any and monitor your children). The penpal listings for the most part are pretty normal and are divided into male and female penpals (including a separation for those with or without photos).

• Penpals: over 35,000
• Activity: Quite active
• Hidden email address: Yes (you can share it – but please don’t!)
• Internal messaging: No
• Profile pictures: Yes (you can add multiple)
• Block penpals from contacting you: No
• Ability to hide/pause account: I think so… but couldn’t find it

Pros: The ability to design your own message and chose an avatar is quite cute – you’ll see some very creative messages!

Cons: The website is difficult to navigate and confusing because of the advertisements (and some of those are disconcerting). Concerns about the sharing of email addresses.

Penpal-net: http://www.penpal-net.info/