A PLA publicity officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed on Tuesday that soldiers and officers had been involved in the development and testing of the game and their feedback significantly contributed to the final version.

"I think it is possible that the game will be made open online for Chinese military fans to download and play," the officer told China Daily.

Video games are not unfamiliar to soldiers in the Chinese military.

"As far as I know, units of the PLA have long used video games in their training," said a veteran from the PLA ground force, who also requested anonymity. "For instance, the scouts may use Counter-Strike," a first-person shooter game developed by US-based Valve Corporation.

A student at a PLA Ground Force College, surnamed Wu, told China Daily that video games were part of lectures on air combat.

"The game did actually help us develop a stronger tactical sense," Wu said.

The combat situations helped improve tactical awareness, according to a professor.

"The game has benefited servicemen," Gong Fangbin, a professor at the PLA National Defense University, was quoted by Beijing Morning Post as saying. "It demands a tactical appreciation of your surroundings and the options facing you. It supplements ground training and is both educational and entertaining."

Ma Quanzhi, a public relations manager with the Wuxi Giant Network Technology Inc, the main developer of Glorious Mission, refused to disclose more details of the game, saying his company has not been authorized by the military to do so.

Other countries, including the United States and Russia, have used video games in military training and have achieved "satisfactory results", an earlier report by Chinese Defense, a newspaper run by the PLA, said.

Source: China.org.cn

Editor: Xu Xinlei