It's the images of bulging breastplates and leather thongs so pervasive in digital entertainment that give Phaedra "Circe" Boinodiris the shivers.

Boinodiris is the co-founder and chief executive of WomenGamers.com, a Cary-based Web site whose mission is to promote a more active and realistic view of women's roles in video games.

The way she tells it, dealing with the male-dominated gaming industry is a lot like grabbing a 14-year-old by the shoulders and shouting "Grow up."

Boinodiris e-mailed me a video game ad that sums up the struggle.

It's a 2003 advertisement for Namco's MotoGp3, a motorcycle game. The ad features a woman in a green dress whose skirt is blown up by a passing motorcycle to reveal checkerboard underpants. The ad's tag line is, "Race for the flag. Win for the Glory."

"I think this accurately represents what we are up against," she said.

Boinodiris and her staff have been working for the past six years to make digital realms more accessible to women. They rate female characters in games, in the same way anti-tobacco people look for cigarettes in films and television, looking specifically at their images and capabilities.

Early portrayals of Lara Croft, spunky, capable Indiana Jones-esque archaeologist, would rate high. The worst examples are usually nameless, but giggle (or jiggle) quietly in the background.

The Namco ad is a good example of how panting marketing ideas miss a segment of what is no longer a male-only market.

Case in point: My girlfriend rolled her eyes at the chesty Valkyrie on the box that my new graphics card came in. For the last time, it was the only one in the store with 256 MB of memory, I swear.

Boinodiris and her sister Ismini "Atari" Boinodiris Roby started the site to give a voice to the other half of the gaming population.

Under the tag line "Because Women DO Play," WomenGamers.com is part review site, part feminist advocacy and part job board for women looking for jobs in gaming.

In the several-part manifesto Boinodiris recited on the phone, the chief motive was to encourage the creation of better female characters and gender neutral games.

Most of the games now marketed to women suffer from what Boinodiris calls the "pink box syndrome."

A cursory glance in my local Target confirms this.

Boxes range from adventures with horseys to planning a wedding for pre-teens. All the boxes are a lighter shade of red.

But what are the games women like to play, I ask Boinodiris?

"It's like asking the question what kind of movies women like," she answers.

Oh, ones with Hugh Grant in them -- darn. (I swore I would never again watch anything again with any combination of the words Jones or Bridget in the title.)

Not exactly.

Women tend to play games that don't demand a significant time commitment with objectives that don't involve blowing things up.

The people simulation "The Sims 2" and the online role-playing game "Guild Wars" are two games that get the thumbs up from WomenGamers.com.

Part of the Web site's mission is to get more women behind the scenes of the games.

Besides putting the heat on game companies, WomenGamers.com made headlines a couple of years ago, when it started a scholarship for women in gaming at the gaming program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas (http://guildhall.smu.edu).

WomenGamers also promotes and sponsors local events like this weekend's Goldsboro Gaming Expo (www.g2expo.com).

It's all part of a plan to appeal to a group that's not being served.

"There is a big market out there that is untapped," Boinodiri said.

Info

What: The first Goldsboro Gaming Expo, sponsored in part by WomenGamers.com.

Highlights promised: "Halo" and "Dance Dance Revolution" tournaments. Industry Speakers from Ubi Soft and Virtual Heroes Inc.

Target audience: Budding game designers and fans.

When: 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Wayne Community College, 3000 Wayne Memorial Drive, Goldsboro.

Tickets: $5 in advance, $7 at the door.

Details: www.g2expo.com.