That's a very true comment, Mat. Return to Mysterious Island featured a strong female avatar that was anything but Lara Croft. She was realistically proportioned, but the emphasis wasn't on her "sexiness" but rather her intelligence. Likewise, April Ryan in The Longest Journey is another strong female character that any woman could play with respect.

However, I was utterly scandalized to find an almost complete turn-of-face in Dreamfall, the so-called sequel to The Longest Journey. There, the female avatar is a "hottie" who starts the game wearing only panties and a bra! The camera zooms in on her bulging breasts and hips in an obvious ploy to arouse male players. I was severely disappointed to see this, since it means that Fun Com has basically given up on the female audience and chucked it all out for the sake of appealing to a few sex-starved males.
Panties: And we wonder why more girls aren't into gaming? Maybe because they're not all gay?