The BBFC has unveiled a new website targeted at parents and guardians that details the age rating of a game and how it might affect children.

David Cooke, director of the BBFC said the thinking behind the site was to put parents "in a better position to make informed choices about what their children watch and play."

Called Parents BBFC and located at www.pbbfc.co.uk, the site provides detailed information about the content of films rated U, PG and 12A, plus a listing of every single game the BBFC has rated.

That includes 18-rated games titles, so parents can find out everything about age ratings for even the newest, most in demand adult-rated games.

Added Cooke: "We know that parents come under a lot of pressure to buy the latest big selling title. So now when they are told by their offspring that ‘it’s only a game’, particularly if it’s rated ‘18’, they can look at the new website and see what the game contains and why it got the rating it did."

Details on the site include the rating, why it was classified that way, a plot synopsis and how the film or game's content may affect children.

Cooked added: “The well known and understood Consumer Advice – the short sentence about a film’s contents seen on posters, advertising and packaging – has proved both popular and helpful, but by its very nature cannot provide the sort of detailed information which parents would find useful.

"This website will take the guess work out of the family outing to the cinema and open up the world of video games for those who don’t know their PSP from their Wii.”