Tannahill Steps Up To Government Game Challenge

The following press release below was put out today.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tannahill Steps Up To Government Game Challenge

CANBERRA, ACT - 8 August 2008 - Greg Tannahill, the ACT Democrats candidate for Molonglo, will test his skills at virtual city management this Wednesday 13 August.

Mr Tannahill has accepted the invitation from local website the Riot ACT to wrestle with Sim City 4, a popular videogame which mixes real issues of urban design and planning with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humour. Mr Tannahill will play Sim City 4 over three hours at All Bar Nun in O'Connor this Wednesday 13 August 2008, starting at 7pm. Spectators are welcome.

"Of course, real government is very different to a game," Greg said, "but games can present a fantastic opportunity to look at real issues like public transport, affordable housing and education from a new perspective. It's important for our politicians to find new ways of talking to people about government, and gaming can be a great avenue of communication."

As part of the challenge, Mr Tannahill will play a set scenario that will allow his performance to be compared to other computer-literate candidates. Mr Tannahill is unconcerned to be put in the spotlight, saying, "The ACT Democrats welcome a challenge."

Mr Tannahill is a long-time videogamer and has been vocal in advocating a flexible national classification scheme for videogames and support for our home-grown videogaming industry. He is standing as the ACT Democrats candidate for Molonglo at this October's Territory election, where he will appear in the ungrouped column.

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