A leading anti-bullying charity is calling for a computer game called Bully to be banned in the UK following the release of a screenshot in which one youth kicks another.
The game is due to be released by controversial US firm Rockstar at Christmas. The firm has previously been criticised for violence in games like Grand Theft Auto.
"We"d hoped that Rockstar had ditched this game following our complaints about it a year ago," said Bullying Online director Liz Carnell. "We don"t think this game is likely to leave players with a warm and fuzzy feeling."
"Bullying is not fun and it"s not a suitable topic for a game. This charity is contacted by thousands of parents and children a year for whom school bullying makes their lives a total misery. Up to four of the children who contact us every day are suicidal.
Liz Carnell added: "Youngsters copy what they see on TV and in games, when wrestling was popular on TV we had numerous complaints about young children hurting others by copying the behaviour they had seen on the screen.
"We"re very concerned that even if this game were to get an adult rating in the UK there would be nothing to stop younger members of the family playing it."