WE find it extremely hard to understand why anyone should want to play a computer game based on showing the player how to indulge in brutal killings.

But it is difficult to argue that violent computer games should be banned completely when films with equally repulsive content are accepted forms of entertainment.

A number of High Street retailers have taken the computer game Manhunt off their shelves after it was linked to the murder of 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah.

His killer, Warren Leblanc, aged 17, who savagely beat his victim with a claw hammer and stabbed him repeatedly, was said to be obsessed with the game.

But while we applaud those retailers who have taken a sensitive and respectful stand by withdrawing the game, there remains a question over where should the line be drawn.

We have no wish to defend Manhunt which, by all accounts, is a sickening creation.

But, in the context of the general debate surrounding computer games, Manhunt had been given an 18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification. It has been given a legitimate place on the adult market.

The core responsibility lies with parents to ensure that their children are not getting their hands on unsuitable games, just as it is their duty to monitor what they watch on television and at the cinema.

Too many children are allowed to become obsessed with computer games, many of them containing violent scenes, because it makes life easier for their parents.

That is the real scandal.