Are you a fan of games like Need for Speed (Underground, Carbon, Most Wanted) or fast-paced games like Burnout? Do you drive? If you answered "YES!" for both, then better read on... (Of course, if you didn't answer Yes, still read on to know the 4-1-1.)

German researchers discovered that people who play racing-themed computer and video games tend to drive more aggressively, take greater risks on the road and get into accidents.

From Sympatico MSN:

According to a report published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, "vehicle racing games were more likely to report driving aggressively and getting into accidents than people who played such games less frequently."

The research also mentioned that "Playing racing games could provoke unsafe driving." Researchers have cited the notion that violent video games brings about aggresive thoughts and feelings, and therefore wanted to see if racing/driving games also bring about "road rage." They also mentioned that "despite the increasing popularity of racing (driving) games, nothing is known about the psychological impact of this genre."

Also, according to the article: 

In one of the studies, the psychologists tested 198 men and 98 women and found that the impact of the racing games demonstrated so-called "media priming" effects, in which simulated aggression can predispose people to the real thing.

A second study of 68 men found that after playing even one racing game, they took "significantly higher risks in critical traffic situations" in a simulation when compared to men who played a "neutral" game.

In the third study in the series, 83 men were asked to play either a racing or a neutral game. In the racing games, "participants had to massively violate traffic rules" to win, the researchers wrote. Violations included driving on the sidewalk, crashing into other cars and driving at high speed.

Bottom line is that those who play racing games had higher accessibility of taking the "risk" than those who don't play racing games.

Is this true? Well, I for one, do not really know what the truth is. But, if this is indeed true, then we'd better take heed. The article to the link is here.

So tell us, what do you think?