Mickey Mouse reinvented as action hero

After more than 80 years after he first appeared in Steamboat Willie, Mickey Mouse is poised to make his debut as the lead character in a computer game, The Guardian reported.

Disney's popular character has got a year-long makeover which has transformed him into a vintage-looking yet three-dimensional cartoon character.

Disney wants to establish Mickey as an action hero just like Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog. The company wants to build on his new fame with games franchise and lots of cool merchandise to attract the younger generation.

"We’ve pulled Mickey out of the world of cartoons which is where he belongs and we pull him into a world of Cartoon Wasteland,” the paper reported game designer Warren Spector saying.

The Disney Epic Mickey game developed by Spector, is set for launch on Nintendo's Wii console next year.

So get ready to see your favourite Mickey in the game roaming the Cartoon Wasteland, faces up to friends he cast aside and overshadowed with his own fame.

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Computer games can leave you Sleepless

Playing computer games for more than seven hours a week can leave you sleepless, and vulnerable to health problems, say scientists.

The doctors believe that the bright light from computer screen may suppress the natural production of melatonin and alter the body's clock.

Melatonin hormone helps regulate a person''s sleeping and waking hours.

The new study showed that gamers – both male and female – who play for more than seven hours a week, sleep less during weekdays and experience greater sleepiness than casual players or non-gamers.

Psychologist Dr Amanda Woolems of the University of Arkansas said that the current study supports previous findings that obsessive gamers spend less time in bed, take longer to get to sleep and have shorter periods of REM sleep – when we are most relaxed.

"Our statistics revealed those who admitted addiction (to gaming] scored higher on a sleepiness scale," the Scotsman quoted her as saying.

Dr Woolems said there was "a significant positive correlation" between the hours of game play and sleepiness.

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