Focus on 'violent' computer games

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The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) rejected Manhunt 2 on the grounds of its "casual sadism" and "unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying".

And UK sales of Law and Order: Double or Nothing were halted after complaints it appeared to show a CCTV image of murdered toddler James Bulger being abducted.

Campaigners welcomed the BBFC's decision to ban the sequel to the violent video game Manhunt, which was blamed for the murder of a 14-year-old schoolboy.

The ruling - making Manhunt 2 the first video game to be refused a British classification in a decade - means the game cannot be legally supplied anywhere in the UK. But it will not be illegal to possess a copy and in theory people will be able to buy the game abroad.

BBFC director David Cooke said: "Rejecting a work is a very serious action and one which we do not take lightly. Where possible we try to consider cuts or, in the case of games, modifications which remove the material which contravenes the Board's published guidelines."

The original Manhunt game was given an 18 classification in 2003 and was "at the very top end of what the Board judged to be acceptable at that category", he said.

Rockstar Games, creator of Manhunt 2 for the PS2 and Nintendo Wii consoles, said it "emphatically disagrees" with the decision. The company, which has six weeks to appeal against the decision, stressed the game was not aimed at children.

In a statement Rockstar said: "While we respect the authority of the classification board and will abide by the rules, we emphatically disagree with this particular decision."

The original Manhunt game caused huge controversy and was blamed for the killing of Stefan Pakeerah, who was stabbed and beaten to death in Leicester in February 2004.