LONDON, July 31: All computer games could get cinema-style age ratings to protect children from increasingly realistic and violent titles, the government said on Thursday.

Culture Minister Margaret Hodge said the rise of adult-themed games with grown-up plots and advanced graphics had made the old warning system obsolete.

Ministers have come under pressure to tighten regulation with the release of violent games like “Grand Theft Auto IV”, a sprawling gangster adventure featuring car-jackings, prostitutes and drive-by shootings.

In March, psychologist Dr Tanya Byron called for a more robust classification system in a government-backed report into the effect of video games and the Internet on children.

Under the current rules, the British Board of Film Classification sets legal age limits on games with sex and violence or ones that include film clips.

It rates games in the same way as films, with a scale ranging from “U” for unclassified, or suitable for anyone aged over four, to PG (parental guidance), and 12, 15 and 18.

The rating is clearly displayed on the front of the box in a coloured triangle or circle.

The rest are governed by a voluntary industry code known as the Pan-European Game Information ratings.—Reuters