Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Video games have enough promise as educational tools that the U.S. government should be spending millions of dollars more on developing applications for schools, a federal science agency official said.

Early studies show that playing video games can help children learn to make quick decisions and study a subject intensively, according to a report released today by the Entertainment Software Association, the National Science Foundation and the Federation of American Scientists. Game- playing might also allow students to learn at their own pace.

``There should be much more investment in this, because it's not just one of these flash-in-the-pan kind of things,'' said Arlene de Strulle, program director in informal science education at the National Science Foundation. ``Not only should we, we must.''

Educational products are not profitable enough for the companies to develop them without federal funding, according to the report. The Entertainment Software Association's members include divisions of Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp., Vivendi SA and Time Warner Inc.

``These future technologies are where we are going, and if we don't go there with the rest of the world, then once again we're dropping back behind what Europe is doing, and Asia,'' de Strulle said. ``If we don't explore the future of this, then we're never going to answer that question.''

Maximizing the educational potential of gaming technology involves replicating the compelling graphics and environments of the top-quality video games, said John Cherniavsky, a senior adviser for research at the education directorate of the National Science Foundation.

`They Make Money'

Major textbook publishers and smaller companies that produce educational software such as Broderbund Software Inc. can't afford to do that, Cherniavsky said. ``They make money, but they don't make the sort of money that places like Sony and Microsoft make,'' he said.

One advantage of using gaming technology for teaching is it enables students to learn at their own pace, so they are neither too bored nor too discouraged, said Henry Kelly, president of the Federation of American Scientists.

``Implementing that is something that, of course, learning theorists would love to be able to do, and in fact it turns out the game guys have done it,'' Kelly said.

Advocates of the video-gaming approach acknowledge its limitations, including that it is likely to have less value in higher grades. ``Many of these games don't have much in the way of reflection,'' Cherniavsky said.

`American Obsession'

Critics include Tom Loveless, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, in Washington, who regards the idea as part of ``this American obsession with making sure that everything in school is enjoyable.''

U.S. textbooks already are too full of entertainment, making them twice the size of those in other countries, Loveless said in an interview.

``Simply making math more entertaining isn't the solution to the United States' problems in math achievement,'' he said. ``It's exactly the wrong way to go. It's exactly the way we have been going.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Basken in Washington at pbasken@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 17, 2006 15:32 EDT