Govt. to consult industry over issue of violence in games

Gordon Brown has pledged to work with the TV, advertising and games industries to reach a consensus on the issue of violence in the media and potentially introduce voluntary controls.

As reported by the Guardian, Brown was speaking at his monthly press conference. He stated, "Where there is pornographic or violent material, any parent is going to be concerned.

"This is not the Government telling people what they should do... This is society reaching a conclusion with all those people involved about what are the legitimate boundaries.

Brown continued, "I think we have got to look at this as a society. I hope this is one of the areas where there can be common ground between all parties. I think you need to review this with a large number of representative groups, from parents, from the different industries itself and from other areas of public life."

The Prime Minister's comments come just days after he announced the launch of a Government review which will focus on the way violence in the media affects children. It will be conducted by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The initial announcement raised concerns amongst gamers and the industry regarding potential censorship of videogames - but Brown's latest comments seem designed to allay these fears.

"I am not interested in censorship at all, but I think we do need rules governing some aspects of the Internet and videos where children are involved," he stated.

"This is not an area where you can proceed, in my view, without trying to establish both what the boundaries are and what is the consensus you can build around these boundaries."