I haven't heard of this before. I have seen the website. Is it worth taking in?

The first couple visits to Barcelona I was "avoiding" the Poble Espanyol because I thought in a somewhat snobby it was "too touristy".
But when I took friends there who never had been to other parts of Spain, I had to change my judgement.
Obviously you will find many stores selling the respective "local" souvenirs or crafts and a bunch of restaurants and bars, but I find the overall concept and appearance of the village (which is more like a small town) quite tasteful.
An alternative to the regular daytime visit is to come at night (at a reduced entrance fee) to have dinner there.

It is a cheesy substitute for seeing the other areas of Spain.

If you go, you should see a performance at Tablao de Carmen. Established in homage to the greatest flamenco dancer of all times, the barcelonesa Carmen Amaya (1913-1963).
http://www.tablaodecarmen.com/index.php?lang=en&m=1

She made her public debut sixteen years old on this site and in front of king Alfonso XIII at the opening of Poble Espanyol (1929).

Only very talented performers, some up and coming and some well established stars. Here is the fabulous bailaor El Junco earlier this year. Saw him in a theater in Málaga two years ago. An unforgettable night. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sENoCuTQYPs

Here is Carmen herself in an cut from a recent documentary about her life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQlk5AYsZtk

Yes as a first time visitor, it's well worth seeing. Not cheesy at all. You could easily spend an entire day visiting the various sights on Montjuic.

Kimhe-which should I choose for flamenco-Tabloa de Carmen or Tabloacordobes?

Tablao Cordobés has got a very high standing among the artists themselves and would be my first recommendation. But there have been some fabulous artists in Tablao del Carmen in the past couple of years. Depends on who are performing on your dates. I could give you some advice as I'm pretty hung on flamenco and have followed the scene for some years, but then again, you might just miss out on that special night with a new talent that I don't know and who blows your mind off.

World class star Farruquito (full theaters all over the world) in Tablao Cordobés earlier this year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7F5f...eature=related

Some of my favourites, such as the dancer El Junco and the singer Alba Carmona, have recently performed at Tablao del Carmen.

Alba Carmona: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4fBzTHtofE

Just because someone is visiting Spain for the first time does not mean that are not experienced travelers. Cheesy is cheesy and unreal is still not real.

Sorry a post script. I went to Las Vegas once, where the Statue of Liberty is next to the roller coaster in Coney Island which is up the block from the Eiffel Tower. Should be the indicator of reality?

What is the problem?

Walking through the Andalusian village in the Poble Espanyol gives you as much of a real or unreal impression of what certain parts of Andalucia look like as watching a feature on the White Villages on the National Geographic channel.
In either case you are not there for real, and you are stuck with what the creators of either work consider worthwhile showing to you.

The Poble Espanyol shows at least bits and pieces also from parts of Spain which are off the beaten Madrid-Prado-Tapas-Picasso-Paella-White Village-Alhambra-Sevilla trail. And thus can spur an interest to visit also those other areas "for real" at a later time.

Furthermore, the Poble plays its part in history in the context of the Exhibition of 1929 for which it had been built, especially as being juxtaposed to the architectural "future" represented by the Mies van der Rohe pavillion (sorry, only another unreal replica).
It may also be of interest that the concept for the Poble comes from Puig i Cadafalch, whose Modernisme buildings in Barcelona and elsewhere are in sharp contrast with the (much later) idea of building this replica village.

I still would not rank the Poble as a "must see" sight but it's a nice harmless pleasure to walk around.
Just like that tapas crazyness is nothing "real" in Barcelona and has nothing to do with Catalan cuisine, but that does not mean that you could not enjoy them.