The UK's Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for West Bromwich East and Civil Service Minister Tom Watson likes video games. And blogging (he has his own blog, and updates it frequently). In fact, it's probably safe to say he's the only politician in West Bromwich East that blogs and likes video games.

"I'd rather my boy be playing on his Wii than passively watching telly. Most games are educational. They make you think, focus, challenge and change - 500 years ago a medium that did this would be called art," the West Bromwich East MP said.

He also noted his friend's eight year-old learned how to make bronze after playing RuneQuest (like, real bronze).

I recall reading a report in a science journal years ago detailing the effect television has on the brain, and the conclusion was it 'thinks for you', putting the brain in a passive state. So Watson's observations are not at all unfounded.

Countless reports on video games and their effect on the brain, meanwhile, typically yield the opposite results, that is, showing increased brain activity, and improvements in many areas, such as motor skills. Not to mention straight-up educational games like the Brain Age series, and language learning titles like My Japanese Coach...