COMPUTER games should be taught in schools because they are good for children's development, researchers said today.

Children should be allowed to play games, talk about them and even create their own in class, according to academics from the Institute of Education at London University.

An expert working on one of the studies, which is partly funded by the Department of Trade and Industry, said the games promoted "social development".

Caroline Pelletier, who is managing the project, said: "Like all games, computer and video games entertain while promoting social development, and playing and talking about games is an important part of young people's lives.

"Game literacy is, as a way of investigating how games are means of expression and representation, just like writing or drawing.

"By developing game-making tools, players can become producers as well as consumers of games, writers as well as readers."

The researchers, from the Institute's Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media, presented their work at a seminar in London today.

Cultural form

Dr Andrew Burn, associate director of the Centre for the Study of Children, Youth and Media, said: "We want to reassure anxious parents and teachers that games are a legitimate cultural form that deserve critical analysis in schools just as film, television and literature do.

"But we also want to argue that full understanding only comes when children have the tools to create their own games."

Educational or mindless? What do you think of the idea? Let us know below.