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Imagine, for example, learning more about the Gaza Strip conflict by not only reading about it, but playing a political video game. Well, such a game, "PeaceMaker," has already been developed at Carnegie Mellon University.

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"Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games" -- Excerpt on race-related games. "Remembering 7th Street: The Oakland Jazz and Blues Clubs Reality Project," background information. "Reviving Oakland's Jazz and Blues Scene, Virtually," National Public Radio "Mind Games: Points of Entry," The New York Times "Why Journalists Should Develop Video Games," MediaShift Idea Lab "Black Professionals In Games: N’Gai Croal Talks Stereotypes, Finding Video Games’ Spike Lee," MTV's Multiplayer blog "Heroes in Black and White: Diversity in the World of Games," Aly Colon, Poynter Online.

Using video games for journalistic storytelling is not far-fetched. The New York Times last year published a game to help readers understand immigration legislation that was up for debate.

"Serious games" are already being developed to help players learn about health, social, political and economic issues. Check out these sites to learn more about "serious games":

Paul Grabowicz, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, is working on such a game with his students, using funding from a Knight News Challenge grant. With their "Remembering 7th Street" project, Grabowicz and his students hope to create a virtual replica of an Oakland street known for its jazz and blues club scene in the '40s and '50s.

"A newspaper or other local news organization needs to be more than just a pipeline for informing people about current news and events," Grabowicz wrote in the MediaShift Idea Lab blog. 

"It also should provide context for people to understand their community and its history. A video game can do that, by letting people re-live the history of their communities and understand not just what's happening today but what came before."