EU seeks to protect children from video game nasties

Agence France-Presse STRASBOURG--The European Commission on Tuesday called for strengthened rules on video games, saying children should be protected children from the worst excesses of the multi-billion euro industry.

"All consumers need clear, accurate information to make informed choices. But this is particularly about children, some of the most vulnerable consumers in society," EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

"Our clear message today is that industry and national authorities must go further to ensure that all parents have the power to make the right decisions for themselves and their child," she added.

Already public concerns that video games can cause aggressive behaviour, heightened by school shootings such as in Helsinki last year, have led some governments to ban or block video games such as "Manhunt 2," the commission said.

The EU's executive arm said that 20 of the 27 EU member states now use the PEGI (Pan European Games Information) system to age-rate games, which the European Union helped to develop.

However, four member states -- Cyprus, Luxembourg, Romania and Slovenia -- have no system in place at all for video game nasties.

And while 15 EU nations have introduced legislation concerning the sale of video games with harmful content to minors in shops, only four -- Britain, Germany, Ireland and Italy -- have gone as far as to ban certain violent video games.

Now the commission believes the industry "must invest more to strengthen and in particular to regularly update the PEGI system so that it becomes a truly effective pan-European tool."

Brussels also called on the gaming industry to do more to publicize the PEGI system, to avoid confusion caused by parallel systems.

"Video games have become a strong pillar of Europe's content industry and are experiencing booming sales across Europe. This is welcome, but implies greater responsibility for the industry to ensure that parents know what kind of games their children play", Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for the Information Society and Media, said.

She also called on EU member states and the industry to govern the sale of video games in shops "to respect the fundamental need to protect minors."

The buregeoning European video gaming sector is already worth half as much as the European music market and exceeds the cinema box office.

Adopted in 2003, PEGI labels provide an age rating and warnings such as violence or bad language.