As many college students move away from home and learn to become independent, there is now a fun way to learn about becoming financially responsible.

On Sept. 14, Wells Fargo introduced "Stagecoach Island," a free, multi-player, online role-playing game developed to teach young adults important lessons in financial literacy. Young adults in San Diego and Austin, Texas are the first to experience the "Stagecoach Island" game. They participated in a pilot program that started Labor Day weekend of this year and ends in mid-November. Wells Fargo is the first financial institution to use an online game for entertainment and educational purposes.

"It's still a project just beginning now," said George Pariseau, a student at Eastern Michigan. While Pariseau doesn't officially represent the product, he thinks the program is a great tool to teach money management in an engaging environment.

Much like "TheSims, "Stagecoach Island" players first select a virtual character and then they can explore the virtual island's dance clubs, cafes and parks. Players can also ride jet-skis, skydive and paintball with other participants. While playing, they save and earn virtual money that allows them to do things like buy new clothes or go dancing at the club.

Money can be earned by visiting the Virtual Learning Lounge and answering trivia questions about banking basics such as budgeting, saving and managing money. The Learning Lounge content comes from Wells Fargo's signature financial literacy program, "Hands on Banking." Wells Fargo's goal is to satisfy all its customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. The "Stagecoach Island" game is an ongoing effort of the company to offer financial education to young people.

"It's a good thing for students to look into to manage money," Pariseau said.

A study done by Jump$tart Coalition found that over half of U.S. high school students graduate without knowing the basics of banking, checking and savings accounts, budgeting, investing and credit. Ironically, 70 percent of U.S. college students play video games, according to Pew Internet & American Life Project.

"The young adult years are a critical time for financial education because many of these young people are leaving home and becoming financially independent for the first time," said Wells Fargo's Chief Marketing Officer Sylvia Reynolds. "'Stagecoach Island' is a contemporary platform where we can educate young people about one of the most important topics to their future success, their finances, in a highly interactive, comfortable and fun environment."

"Stagecoach Island" is part of a financial education program for young adults called "We Take the Fun of Money Seriously." Wells Fargo is hosting a series of live "We Take the Fun of Money Seriously" events throughout Austin and San Diego during September and October where young adults can participate in various activities such as karaoke, trivia games, athletic challenges and photo booths.

Participants win prizes while learning about banking basics. They will also receive the Web address and a unique login code for the "Stagecoach Island" software and will have the opportunity to play the online game at home for 30 days. Wells Fargo developed the "We Take the Fun of Money Seriously" program and the "Stagecoach Island" game with experiential marketing agency Swivel Media based in San Francisco.

"Education and entertainment are just beginning to merge. We're excited to be involved with Wells Fargo's "Stagecoach Island," a project that really addresses young peoples' need to learn in an engaging and realistic setting," said Swivel Media's Founder and Creative Director Erik Hauser. "We're using the most sophisticated virtual gaming platform from Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life, to provide a highly engaging experience. We want today's youth to learn how to manage their finances and how to handle credit and we want them to have fun doing it."

Visit http://wellsupdate.wellsfargo.com/m/p/wls/ibk/sc.asp to start having some financial fun.