Cinema ratings on video games?

Byline: By EXAMINER News Correspondent

VIDEO games could be forced to carry cinema-style age classifications, with tough penalties for retailers who sell them to children, under proposals in a report to be published today.

The report by psychologist Tanya Byron will also recommend a massive education campaign to warn parents, teachers and child-carers of the risks of games and the Internet for children.

Dr Byron, best known for her work as child behaviour guru on TV shows Little Angels and House of Tiny Tearaways, was commissioned last year by Prime Minister Gordon Brown amid concern that new electronic forms of entertainment may be harming the development of children's moral value systems.

At present, only games showing sex or gross violence require an age rating from the British Board of Film Classification.

Fewer than 2% carry an 18 certificate.

Anewlegally-binding system could ensure that every game is rated in the same way as films, which are classed U (universal), PG (parental guidance), 12, 15 or 18, with the age guidance printed on its sleeve in a way that can be understood by parents who are not computer-savvy.

Launching her report alongside Schools Secretary Ed Balls and Culture Secretary Andy Burnham in London today, Dr Byron is expected to say that the Internet and video games have huge potential in terms of education and development.

But the mother-of-two will also warn that her six-month review has shown there is too little awareness of the dangers they may also pose.

The report is expected to say that computers should be sited in shared family parts of the house, rather than in children's bedrooms.

And it will suggest that parents should monitor their children's online activities to ensure they are not viewing inappropriate content.

While many parents regard Internet use as being similar to watching television, Dr Byron will warn that it is more like being sent outside to play unsupervised.