Trade Your Gun For An Xbox

If you get rid of your low-calibre weapon in Mexico City, the police will give you an Xbox for it. This interesting variation on the long-practiced gaming tradition of trade-in is part of Mayor Marcelo Ebrard's crackdown on crime.

The programme launched yesterday and has seen some success, with 17 guns turned in so far. Gangsters (or, let's face it, plain old maniacs) who turn in a more high-powered weapon like a machine gun will get a PC with software, also courtesy of Microsoft.

Ebrard's been getting tough on crime since he was elected in December. As well as turning crooks into nerds he's been targeting know crime dens and flushing illegal vendors from the streets.

SPOnG's sure that many anti-violent-game advocates in the United States (for example) will be thrilled to hear about gaming being used to curb violence instead of to create it. Or maybe all those violent game will just teach the crooks how to shoot better...

In the meantime, SPOnG wants to know whether the PCs will come with Vista. Those wacky guys at Microsoft are always finding ways to break into new markets and spread the word, after all..