Game on for battle of the geeks

They are seen as geeks, hunched over their consoles in darkened rooms mindlessly zapping invading aliens for hours on end.

But now it is getting serious for computer game players, with a new championship offering tens of thousands of pounds in prize money and turning the winners into stars.

About 400 of the world's best have gathered in Seoul, South Korea, to take part in the World Cyber Games, a five-day computer games tournament being dubbed the first-ever cyber Olympics.

Contestants will battle it out for prizes worth more than £200,000. In South Korea, top gamers are revered like Hollywood film stars.

Finalists had to win national qualifiers to get through to the final stage, which organisers hope will become an annual event.

The games appearing in the competition were chosen for their worldwide popularity (see opposite).

They are on five themes, covering the major gaming genres: shoot 'em up, sports sim, action/adventure and real-time strategy, although some competitors think the absence of a racer is a puzzle.

Contestants will go head-to-head against an opponent via linked PCs.

Networked gaming, the term given to competitive computer game playing via the Internet, is one of the fastest-growing cybersports.

South Korea is home to the world's largest computer games markets and has about 200,000 cybercafés.

The event is sponsored by computer manufacturer Samsung, which wants to gauge trends in computer gaming. The games can be viewed at worldcybergames.org .

The games they'll be playing