The Chinese government may not want kids playing it for hours, but Counter-Strike is good enough for police to play - as anti-terrorism training games. Over 300 members of the Tianjin police force took over an Internet cafe on Wednesday for a three-day competition (including a team of judges to ensure no one was 'cheating'), and took to heart the mantra of "Enhancing police forces through technology":

After the competition was announced in March, Zhang [Bin, one of the competition organizers] said, police officers were enthusiastic. Now almost half the total Tianjin force are regular players.

"Of course, they play, or should I say train, after work," he added.

Officers reported noticeable improvement in self-protection on field missions after the play, Han said, stressing the game was only "a supplement to their traditional means of training."

Now all they need is an outpost in Second Life to recruit officers, and they'll be in business.

Counter-Strike, China police's latest tool of anti-terrorism [People's Daily Online]

Tags: china | counter-strike | internet cafes | police | terrorism