Putting distractions to good use

Video games have been blamed for destroying morals, for taking precedence over schoolwork and for ruining the ability of children to focus, but recent research suggests they also have an upside.

A University of Rochester study found that playing video games "especially action video games like Halo "can help a gamer's vision, attention and ability to multitask.

The study, published in Wiley Interdisciplinary Review's "Cognitive Science,"cites groups of laparoscopic surgeons where gamers demonstrated shorter surgery completion times and fewer errors than non-game playing surgeons.