Italian police are trying to ban a new computer game which encourages players to climb the ladder of the mafia.
It tells the story of a taxi driver who becomes a mafia boss's driver and has to cheat and kill other members.
The game, called mafia, is planned for launch in Italy later this month.
It is subtitled "The instruction manual for wannabe mafiosi".
President of the national anti mafia police section Roberto Centaro told the Il Giornale newspaper: "I'll do anything I can to ban the sale of the game in Italy. This is a proper instruction book for wannabe mafiosi."
Former interior minister Carlo Taormina said: "When it comes to mafia one simply cannot take it as a game. There's really nothing to joke about here."
But the distributor of the game in Italy, Cidiverte, says there has been an over-reaction.
Head of the company Pietro Vago said: "The video game is aimed at adults, who should be capable of distinguishing between reality and fiction. We think that there has been an over-reaction from the politicians."
Mafia will hit UK shops at the end of March.
A spokesman for Mafia's UK distributor Take 2 told Ananova: "We are unaware of any problems internationally with the game, and we've got no issues with it whatsoever."
News source: Ananova
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