It's almost mid-week and the energy after the weekend has more or less worn off.

So what do we do here at Hippyshopper to get our energy levels back up again to face the rest of the working week? We take some time out to play a game!

This week we've been told about a game called Swat the Mozzy which is actually helping to raise awareness and funds in the fight against malaria. See you can have fun and do good all in one go!

Charity Malaria No More's Swat the Mozzy game invites you to hit as many mosquitos between now and 25th April - the World Malaria Day. Whoever gets the highest hit number will get the chance to win a host of prizes.

Malaria is a preventable and treatable disease that affects half of the world's population and claims over 780,000 lives each year, most of them children in Africa.

For more info and to play the game head on over to www.malarianomore.org.uk/swat-the-mozzy

Do you remember Tamagotchi, the hand held digital pet that emerged from Japan in the late nineties and took tweenies by storm?

Since then, digital pets all over the world have moved into social gaming and have found a home on Facebook, where they have created their own Pet Society. With over 13 million players joining in each month, Pet Society lets you create uber cute virtual pets that you then need to care for; nurturing their health and happiness by dressing them in the latest fashions (much like reality really) and lavishing them in luxury virtual goods.

But what about real animals who also need some TLC to live happy and healthy lives?

The creators of Pet Society, Playfish is supporting the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and its efforts to protect the future of nature. Between 1st November 2010 and 1st January 2011, Playfish will donate 10 cents to WWF for every new player who installs Pet Society via the Play to Give website.

So when your kids ask for a puppy this Christmas why not set them up with a virtual tiger or polar bear on Pet Society instead?

And the best thing about the game, after donating to WWF of course: it's free! But we won't tell anyone.

Since July 2009, Playfish has donated 10% of the purchase price of every WWF virtual item in Pet Society to WWF, with a guaranteed contribution of $100,000 per year. More than 520,000 items have been sold to date.

Everybody's favourite TV geek crush, David Tennant of Dr Who fame, has joined up with Oxfam to offer an online climate challenge, writes ShinyShiny's Anna Leach. You must guide David to answer questions about climate change, and pick the correct option out of three or four answers.

Watch David Tennant screw his face up as he tries to figure out how many wind turbines China builds every day. You make the celeb answer by clicking one of the three or four answers, you get a mark for what time you chose it in, and then the celebrity says your answer. Other stars involved include: Ashley Lensen, Mackenzie Crook and Miranda Richardson.

Games include: Boiling Point; Trains, Planes and Bananas; and Pollution Solution.

There's a button to sign an Oxfam petition on climate change and an option to share the game on your Facebook account. Oxfam have also hooked the climate challenge up with Nokia phones, so it's available as an Ovi app.

It's a moreish way of getting people to swallow some hard facts on Climate Change.

http://www.theclimatechallenge.org/

Related: Weird Website of the Week: Dalston Oxfam Shop

There are lots of sites offering tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint, but few are as pretty as Nationalgridfloe, which transports you to an iceberg for an arctic lesson on climate change courtesy of a family of polar bears.

I've been on the site this morning, playing with my adopted baby bear ("Buffy"). My eco-knowledge meant that I won quite a few fish for my pixelated friend, but sadly my throwing abilities were lacking, and I now have a very hungry cub haunting my desktop. Can you do better? It's good relaxing fun and you might even learn something. Give it a go here.

Related: Free rice: help the hungry while you skive | Raise a virtual tree from your desk

If you're looking for an alternative to watching your parents fall asleep in front of the Queen's Speech on Christmas day, you might want to invest in some gifts from Green Board Games to keep everyone occupied after the last bite of Xmas pud's gone down. As the company name suggests, Green Board Games products are made from recycled or recyclable materials, or using wood from managed forests. They sell a large selection of different games - both reproductions of existing games and games original to Green Board Games. Their range of educational games is particularly impressive - whether you want to teach your children about gravity, or test your knowledge of fractions in French, Green Board Games has it all!

Related: The Great Ethical Toy Guide

Finding it hard to kickstart your brain on a Monday? Can't focus on work? Here's a fun language game to distract you that won't make you feel too guilty...

Free Rice, an offshoot of the excellent World Poverty Site, is a variation on all those other sites that allow you to donate just by clicking on a link. What makes this one so effective, though, is its addictive element; it's a word game that flashes up increasingly 'obscure' English words, then asks you to identify the correct meaning.

Each time you get the answer right, ten grains of rice are donated to hungry people in developing countries. This is distributed by the World Food Programme, wherever famine strikes.

So if you're in a bit of a lull and about to put on the kettle, why not give Free Rice a go. It'll sharpen your own vocabulary, and make you feel a whole lot better about skiving!

Related: Feed the hungry for free with The hunger site

Nothing is real until it's been immortalised in Sim City (or the Simpsons) and climate change has now had a namecheck in both. I think we can call that progress!

More specifically, Sim City Societies, the latest edition of the world-domination game that's been a hit since 1989, has made energy saving and carbon reduction an important goal for players, allowing them to build their own windfarms and make other renewable energy choices to reduce Sim City's carbon footprint.

The game does not force players to power their cities any specific way, but allows them to make choices, each of which come with advantages and disadvantages.

Tamagotchi should watch their backs. Virtual trees are the next big thing.

Children can learn more about the environment and climate change by at Raise A Tree

This nifty variation on a virtual pet allows children to raise their own virtual tree anywhere in the world. If their tree is unlucky enough to suffer from a natural disaster that affects its growth the child will learn about what happened and why.

I stumbled upon these amazing swings purely by chance, and I’m glad I did. With summer almost here, and the weather men/women promising us a scorcher this year, what better gift for the children? Imagine your children spending summer afternoons in the garden being active and close to nature rather than in front of the tv or pc or computer games console. These recycled tyre animal swings are designed by artist Patrick Palumbo from New Jersey, USA. These are the original recycled tyre animal swings and are tested to BS EN Standards and are the only tyre animal swings to be CE approved. So they’re safe, ethical and great fun. All you need is a suitable tree to hang them from, and at least one child of course!

I probably don't need to remind you that it's Friday, but I don't think the point can ever be overstated. So in the appropriate spirit, here's a little a little diversion to keep you entertained til hometime. Turn it all off is a fun little game with a message that should become obvious pretty quickly...

I'm going to dedicate this one to our very own Shiny Katie, who does a stirling job keeping Shiny Towers as eco friendly as possible (and woe betide anyone who leaves their PC on standby at the end of the day!) She's out of the office today, so with any luck, this should remind us all to switch off before we scarper...

You're forgiven if you're thinking this black flying object looks spookily like a UFO - apparently press reports have suggested the same. It's actually a Solar Powered Airship - a toy for all the family that's 8 metres in length and flies solely by the power of the sun. The price of many fun Sunday afternoons in the park with the airship will set you back £15 plus postage. It can be flown all year round in reasonable sunshine but works best when there is no wind. Beam yours down now from British Eco, purveyor of eco-friendly products for gardeners and those who love the outdoors. Plus, if you register with Why Organic, you can currently get 10% off certain British Eco products. [written by Ella]