Ban on violent video game spreads

Several countries have followed New Zealand's lead and placed restrictions on the video game Manhunt.
New Zealand banned the game last year, with the Chief Censor saying it took graphic violence to a new level.
It is the first time a video game has been banned in New Zealand.
New Zealand received world-wide media attention over the ban. Hastings says the game was given an R18 classification in the United Kingdom and Ireland and an MA15 rating in Australia.
The banned video game is at the centre of a string of first-of-a-kind prosecutions.
Several people have been charged with attempting to trade in objectionable material, after allegedly trying to sell copies of the game.
It is the first time anyone has been prosecuted under the Films, Videos and Publications Classification Act relating to a video game.
The Department of Internal Affairs says the individuals charged obtained the game overseas and were allegedly trying to sell it in New Zealand.
If found guilty, they face a maximum penalty of one year in prison or a $20,000 fine.
Linked to British murder
Britain's biggest electronics chain, Dixons, pulled the graphically violent video game from its shops on Thursday after parents of a teenage murder victim blamed the game for the killing of their son.
The game, in which the player takes on the role of a convicted murderer ordered by a demented film director to kill people in as gruesome a fashion as possible, has stirred controversy even among fans of violent videos.
It awards extra points to players for carrying out murders in a particularly extreme and bloody way, while victims plead to be spared on behalf of their wives and children.
The parents of Stefan Pakeerah, 14, called this week for Manhunt to be banned after a 17-year-old admitted inviting their son into a park and murdering him.
Warren Le Blanc, a fan of the game, admitted he beat the younger teen to death with a claw hammer and stabbed him repeatedly with a knife. He could face life in prison.
"I didn't intend to kill him at first, but when I saw the blood I just let go and hit more times," he told police.
Stefan's father Patrick, 41, said: "Stefan's murder compares to how the game is set out, using weapons like hammers and knives. If games like this influence kids, they should be taken off the shelves."
The game is published by Rockstar Games, a division of New York's Take-Two Interactive Software known for its line-up of violent games like the hugely popular Grand Theft Auto series, which sees players run wild in high-speed crime sprees.
No comment from the company was immediately available.
A spokeswoman for Dixons said it was pulling the game from its shelves with immediate effect as a result of the uproar.
The game has an "18" rating from Britain's film board, which means it should not be sold to minors.
In a generally favourable review on the website totalvideogames.com, the reviewer wrote: "It has to be the most violent yet realistic video game we've played" and described its "ability to unhinge the player and make you feel disturbed."
Another Web site, Game Zone Online, gave it an 8 out of 10 score for "solid gameplay" but wrote: "Kids under 17 should not be allowed anywhere around this game, and it contains some of the most disgusting killings that I have seen either in movies or in a game".