Real soldiers in a videogame --- American fantasy....

Move over, GI Joe. The US army has found some recruits in its latest effort to enlist soldiers. In a campaign targeting teenagers, the army announced on Thursday a new version of its “America’s Army” video game, incorporating digital likenesses of eight actual soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The “America's Army Real Heroes” programme will also include a series of $10 action figures, based on the same real soldiers, in store shelves by Christmas.

The American army is believed to spend about $2.5 million annually on the free PC game, a first-person shooter in which players go through a simulated boot camp or team up with other real players online in three-dimensional battles. About 27 million copies of the taxpayer-funded game have been distributed since its July 4, 2002, debut, and there are about 7.5 million registered users. Gamers can get “America’s Army” from recruiters or by downloading it from various video game web sites. The game is often included with computer systems from Dell Inc. and other hardware manufacturers such as video card maker Nvidia Corp. The latest version, “America's Army: Special Forces,” is the first to include actual soldiers, instead of using only generic warriors.