Europe on violent videogames

The European Union is looking into whether to establish continent-wide curbs on violent videogame sales "amid worries that national controls are too lax," the Associated Press reports. It'll be interesting to see if free-speech concerns will carry as much wait in Europe as they have in the US, where federal courts in a number of states have struck down anti-videogame laws on constitutional grounds. " Most if not all EU governments have in place parental advisory rules and voluntary agreements with games makers and retailers to prevent the sale of violent or other adult games to those under 16." Germany's Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said an inventory of EU members' national bans and ratings will soon be posted in a Web site, and the EU would be consulting with other countries about greater international coordination. In other videogame news, two bills "aimed at restricting games deemed to contain violent or racist content from minors"
have been proposed in New York State, Gamasutra reports, and Reuters reports on a US university professor's urging of schools "to consider using videogames as tools to better prepare children for the work force."