Friday, December 04, 2009 SAN FRANCISCO: A study released Thursday by NPD Group indicates that 82 percent of US children two years of age or older play videogames but that interest wanes as teens near adulthood.Some 55.7 million US children are "gamers," with youths in a 12 to 14 age bracket logging the most play time at an average of 10.6 hours weekly, according to NPD.Time spent playing videogames drops off among children 15 to 17 years of age, with girls less likely to indulge in gaming than boys, NPD reported."The decline in teen usage of videogames is likely due to diversifying, maturing interests, which translates into stiffer competition for their mind and wallet share," said NPD videogame industry analyst Anita Frazier."In addition to competition from other areas of the entertainment space, more school work, activities, and parent-imposed time limits on gaming are factors which the data suggests may be contributing to this dip in older teen engagement."The report is based on a survey in September of more than 5,000 children ranging in age from two to 17.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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