The Sims 3 featured in USA Today

Fun facts from The Sims 3 are highlighted in USA Today!

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3 things you didn't know about 'The Sims 3'

By Marc Saltzman

EA's The Sims 3, the latest in the best-selling computer game franchise of all time, is burning up the charts with an estimated 2 million units since it launched earlier this month.

If you caught our review, then you pretty much know how this Windows/Mac game works, what you can do in it and the new features built into the sequel.

But we thought it would be fun to highlight a few things you probably didn't know about The Sims 3.

A YouTube sensation
The Sims 3 YouTube Channel is the most subscribed to sponsored channel of all time (more than 35,000 subscribers), says EA, and in the Top 5 of most viewed sponsored channels of all time. With the tools included in the game, The Sims 3 players are becoming their own movie director to create, edit, add music and transitions, and then share the creations with the world. This also includes many "machinima" creations that use the game engine to tell a unique story. To date, more than 14 million videos have been viewed at The Sims 3 YouTube Channel.

Spin interesting yarns
The openness of the game allows for virtually any story you want to tell. Some examples getting some buzz in the press include a story about a homeless father and daughter, another one about a mad scientist that longs for love and what ghosts are capable of in the game. And then there's the eco-friendly Sims who want to play the game with the environment in mind, be it grow organic veggies, cycle to work or drive the new Toyota Prius, which you can now download for free (something nearly 100,000 players have already done).

She's got the look
As with past games in this series, you can create a Sims character from scratch, but you probably don't realize how many options you have this time around. In The Sims 3, you can customize virtually every aspect of your Sims’ appearance from their hair color and style (and even root color and highlights), as well as eyes, cheeks, lips, make-up and body type. The game also ships with nearly 1,000 pieces of clothing, including hundreds of tops, bottoms, full body outfits and 175 different pairs of shoes. On that note, many are recreating celebrities and putting them into the Sim world -- from Sarah Palin to Michael Jackson.