A video game created by the United Nations has been passed by PEGI Online for a 7+ rating.

Against All Odds, which was produced by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is designed to increase students’ awareness and knowledge about the plight of the world’s refugees.

The title is available for download free at www.playagainstallodds.com

 “Against All Odds has proved a very popular online game ever since its launch in 2005,” says Peter Kessler, UNHCR spokesman in London.

“Hundreds of thousands of kids learned about the life of refugees by playing this game. Given its popularity, we wanted to make sure that very young children are not exposed to unsuitable content, even though the game is primarily educational and not available for sale. In addition to the PEGI Online logo we display the 7+ rating on the game website.”

ELSPA director general Paul Jackson added: “The PEGI Online age ratings system is incredibly important and designed to protect children when playing games online. It is future-proof and has been developed as part of the PEGI age ratings system which is featured on all boxed products released across Europe.

“For us, the UN’s commitment to PEGI Online is clear evidence of the reputation the system has across Europe for helping to protect younger gamers to ensure that they are only playing appropriate games for their age group. The system also ensures parents are empowered to make the right choices for their children when purchasing games in any of 27 countries across Europe.

“We will also be providing a link for downloading Against All Odds on our advice website AskAboutGames.com. This is a game with a social conscience and we are delighted to help promote it.”