NINTENDO will next month release its latest fitness gadget, which it hopes will repeat the huge success of its Wii Fit game.

The new game, called Walk With Me, uses an electronic pedometer which players carry around to count their steps. The keyfob-sized gadget then uploads the data to a handheld console. Players earn points in the game depending on how far they have walked during the day, and can set targets for themselves.

They will be able to compete against family and friends to see who has walked the farthest, and upload scores to a website to compare their exercise with players around the world. The record is said to be held by a dog in Japan.

Walking also unlocks mini games, including one which shows players crossing continents, unlocking facts about each one as they reach it.

Robert Saunders of Nintendo said: "We hope that, like the Wii, this will appeal to people from nine to 95." In the UK, the company has sold eight million of the £100 DS portable consoles needed to play the Walk With Me game.

Nintendo says that it is also working with NEC, Panasonic and Hitachi to design a system that will allow doctors to check up on patients and give them advice through the Wii.

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