Violent video games should be banned according to the government, as they look into ways of researching the affects video games have on our children.

I disagree. Video games, like movies, books, music and any other form of art, are there to enjoy not restrict.

What most people fail to realise is that the video game industry, just like the film industry, is heavily regulated with a strict code of parental guidelines already in place. Even the consoles have parental controls.

Where the system goes wrong, however, is not that the video games are too violent, but that some parents believe it's okay to give their children 18 rated games even though they are well under that age.

Come on people, you wouldn't let a 10-year-old watch Alien or a horror movie like 28 Days Later would you? So why most parents let a 10-year-old play Gears of War, or GTA with its gang, crime and sexual overtones, beats me.

When commentators then say that video games are very influential on the youth of today, they are probably right, but then the youth of today probably shouldn't be playing violent video games, just as they shouldn't be watching violent movies, or reading violent books like American Pyscho, or listening to explicit lyrics.

I mean it's like saying that an actor shouldn't be allowed to play a part in a play or film because he or she might feel that playing that character will influence someone to behave in the same way. It's ridiculous.

You don't expect any one who plays Macbeth to hunt for witches, murder their boss and then have their wife go insane, so why should you expect video games to have any affect on those who play it?

So what should the government do? Well, not waste 6 months proving something that we already know to be true. Not all video games are for children.

The days of video gaming as "just another toy" are far behind us. Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 are both aimed at the adults of the family with the consoles doubling up as media centres streaming and playing more than just games for your home cinema set-up.

As for dealing with the problem that violent video games can influence the young and impressionable, well police it better. Get on with educating parents that adult games can be just as bad as adult films, i.e., scary.

However, until parents up and down the country understand this, it will be left to the sceptics to bash the industry and stifle its creativity.

Frankly, I couldn't think of anything worse. The last thing that I want to do is go into my local video game shop and only be able to buy games that are clean and aimed at 3-year-olds, such as Patience or The Sims.

I want to let off steam, and if that means blasting a couple of pixels I think I am old enough to understand the consequences. As for my 18-month-old daughter, she won't get to play Gears of War for another 16 and half years - whether she likes it or not.