Minneapolis - With the scheduled release of Saints Row only a week away, the National Institute on Media and the Family is urging families to monitor their children's video games habits and talk to them about what games are appropriate. Saints Row joins the ranks of violent and explicit video games such as Grand Theft Auto and Halo.

"With new video games being released almost daily, parents need to pay more attention to what their children are playing on their computers, Playstations and Xboxes," said Dr. Dave Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media on the Family. "Games like Saints Row contain graphic images and messages that impact the young, adolescent mind."

Saints Row, a joint product of THQ and Volition, Inc., has been promoted as Xbox 360's solution to Playstation 2's Grant Theft Auto. Similar to the Grand Theft Auto series, players are able to attack and kill gang members, police officers and innocent bystanders.

Saints Row also allows players to play multiplayer versions and offers gamers the opportunity to participate in drug trafficking, escorting prostitutes, insurance fraud and being a hitman. In addition, players are able to purchase alcohol and marijuana. The game is scheduled to be released on August 29, 2006.

"Gaming technology today is so advanced that impressible youths start to blur the line between what is real and what is fantasy," continued Dr. Walsh. "There is already a mountain of evidence that shows violence in the media has a negative impact on children's development. That is why parents have to be aware of games like Saints Row and have conversations with their children about what is appropriate."

Dr. Walsh is the national expert on the effects of media on children. He has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, NBC, CBS and ABC Nightly News shows, CNN and MSNBC.

The National Institute on Media and the Family is an independent non-partisan, non-sectarian, nonprofit organization. The Institute's mission is to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm mass media have on children through research and education. For more information, visit www.mediafamily.org.