* Spacewar - developed by a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the late 1950s - was probably the first computer game
* A recent study in the UK found that one teenager in three plays games daily, and that 7 per cent play for at least 30 hours a week
* In some classes of 11-year-olds, more than half the pupils have the first signs of repetitive strain injury, a crippling condition that can be caused by overuse of computer games
* Girls play less often than boys. They also play in different ways, becoming less intensely involved and taking more interest in characterisation and narrative
