Microsoft's Play Smart, Play Safe Index Reveals European Parents in Control of Children's Gaming Habits

Brussels (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Parents Welcome Family Timer Feature to Manage Children's
Interactive Gaming Experience

Parents throughout Europe overwhelmingly view themselves as the
most influential source to decide whether a video game is suitable or
not for their children according to the Play Smart, Play Safe Index,
a new survey sponsored by Microsoft.

The independent survey of 4,000 parents in the UK, France, Germany
and Italy, gauged attitudes on a host of issues about video gaming.
The poll is part of Microsoft's Play Smart, Play Safe parent
education programme to empower and inform parents and other
stakeholders on how to best deliver a fun, safe and balanced gaming
experience for children of all ages.

The poll reveals that the majority of parents (66%) look to
themselves when deciding on which games are most suitable for their
children. They also consider their children (21%) influential in
deciding the types of games they play, putting them on par with video
game manufacturers (21%) and the government (18%).

"As a leader in interactive entertainment, we have a
responsibility to provide both the information and the technology
parents need to best deliver a safe gaming experience for their
families," said Chris Lewis, Vice President, Microsoft EMEA. "In line
with the research results, Microsoft is making available today a new
Family Timer feature - already built into Windows Vista - that will
enable parents for the first time to set the appropriate amount of
gaming and entertainment time on the Xbox 360 - on a daily or weekly
basis."

Parents stated that the content of games and the amount of time
playing games are important issues. In fact, seven out of ten parents
(71%) expressed concern over the content of video games, with the
highest level of concern being in Italy (83%) and the UK (76%).

A majority of parents (60%) agree however that they are
sufficiently informed about the built in functions on game consoles
or operating systems to control their child's access,

But when it comes to the video gaming time of their children, only
half feel in control of such time. Parents had strong opinions about
the amount of time their children spent playing games suggesting one
hour of video games per day as the most common prescription. To
assist in monitoring the gaming time of their children, the poll
revealed three-quarters of parents would welcome a built-in console
or software function to monitor the time their children spent playing
video games.

In terms of access to games the research revealed "most video
games are played in a controllable environment with the majority of
children playing by themselves (64%). Video games also provide a
great social platform for many children with nearly a third playing
with friends (32%) and family (32%).

"It's a fantastic time to be a kid in the digital age, but it's
also time for all of us to come together as responsible parents and
business leaders to ensure our children are safe as well as
challenged and entertained," continued Lewis.. "Microsoft is
committed to educating parents about the tools and resources
available to help them manage their children's interactive
entertainment experiences on both Xbox 360 and Windows Vista. While
the research tells us there is strong awareness of the parental
controls and video game age ratings, we need to make it easier for
parents to adopt and use these tools and to build further awareness
through partnerships with key governmental and non-governmental
organizations as well as with the gaming and retail industries. This
is the primary goal of our Play Smart, Play Safe initiative in
Europe."

Microsoft's Commitment to Families Is Ongoing

Xbox was the first video game and entertainment system with
built-in parental controls for both online and offline use. Known as
Family Settings, these controls allow parents and caregivers to set
guidelines for which games work for them, make informed choices about
content, and decide with whom their children can play online. Earlier
this year, Windows Vista launched with a similar set of parental
controls that allows parents to guide children's game playing, Web
browsing and overall computer use. These controls help parents
determine which games their children can play, which programs they
can use, which Web sites they can visit - and when.

With more than 13 million Xbox 360 consoles sold, the company's
drive to empower parents is a core Microsoft responsibility.

About Xbox 360

Xbox 360 is a superior video game and entertainment system
delivering great games, unique entertainment features and a unified
online gaming network that revolve around gamers. Xbox 360 will have
a portfolio of more than 300 games and will be available in nearly 40
countries by the end of 2007. More information can be found online at
http://www.xbox.com/xbox360.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader
in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses
realize their full potential.

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For more information, please contact (press only): Jere Sullivan,
Edelman: Tel. +32-496-12-29-30, email. jere.sullivan@edelman.com;
Dave Bennett, Edelman: Tel. +44-7979-85-22-39, email.
v-davben@microsoft.com; Paul Fox, Microsoft: Tel. +44-7801-88-18-57,
email. paulfox@microsoft.com.