Drawn To Life is being used in schools around the country in a bid to encourage children to take a greater interest in art.

The Wii and DS platformer, which sees players drawing their own protagonist and other game elements, was published last week by THQ.

“THQ has been working closely with a number of primary schools to trial using Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter to help engage children in art,” UK and Europe PR manager Simon Watts told MCV.

“Schools are embracing more and more technological approaches to teaching so this is an obvious next step for them. We have installed debug Wii and DS units into classrooms and at several schools the game has been used as part of the syllabus for over a month.

“I visited one of the schools myself last week to see how the children were getting on with the game and we received overwhelmingly positive feedback both from the pupils and the teachers. We are delighted to be able to engage with our audience in this way.”

The use of the Drawn To Life sequel in the classroom has also helped to drive THQ’s Draw Your Hero promotional competition, with dozens of primary schools registering entire classes as participants.

When asked if more THQ games could be used for educational purposes, Watts was optimistic.

“A number of recently published studies have found that video games can have a positive impact on a child’s development. So, given the right product, further ventures like this could be a possibility,” he said.

“However, there are no further plans set in stone at this current time.”