From Halo to Harvard? In good new for video games, scientists said their addictive nature can be harnessed for education.

The Federation of American Scientists declared Tuesday that video games can help redefine learning. After a year of study, the group called for federal research into how video games can be converted into serious educational tools for schools.

The theory is that games teach skills that employers want: analytical thinking, team building, multitasking and problem-solving under duress.

Unlike humans, the games never lose patience. Another bonus: They are second nature to many kids.

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FEDS MUST TAKE LEAD

The idea might stun those who consider games to be the symbol of teenage sloth.

In order for games to work in the classroom, they would have to be created and evaluated with the goal of raising achievement, said federation president Henry Kelly.

There's already an audience; more than 45 million homes have video-game consoles.

"If we can't make the connection, shame on us," Kelly said at a news conference.

Doug Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association, said there will soon be 75 million Americans who are 10 to 30 years old -- an age bracket that grew up on video games.

The key is to figure out which features of games are key for learning and how to test students on the skills they learn in games. The National Science Foundation and the departments of education and labor would lead this research.

"This is an investment that the private industry simply is not capable of taking," said Kelly, a former White House science and technology leader during the Clinton administration.

"This is the kind of thing where the federal government has always acted in the past, to underwrite basic research that you need to drive an important movement forward," he said.

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