Southfield (WWJ)  -- A Michigan State University professor is allowing people to learn Chinese language and culture via an online video game. 

Yong Zhao, a University Distinguished Professor of educational psychology and educational technology, said the interactive game will help meet a growing hunger for knowledge about China, particularly with the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in Beijing. The game is called “Zon/New Chengo.”  

Click here for more about the game.

“There is a general increase in demand for more opportunities to learn about Chinese culture and language,” said Zhao, a Chinese native and internationally renowned scholar. “This game offers a vicarious, virtual experience of China.”

Zhao says a new generation of learners, what he calls "digital natives," has emerged.  This generation live on computers, they live in video games.

“Zon/New Chengo” is described as a “massively multiplayer online role-playing game” in which a large number of players interact with one another in a virtual world. It creates an immersive Chinese environment where one can visit markets, read newspapers, watch television, chat and trade with other players and even find employment as if they lived in China -- but with the tools to help them decode the language and decipher the culture.

Among the many tasks players can complete in the tourist stage include ordering a taxi, exchanging currency and checking into a hotel in China.

"Games are supposed to be fun and educational,” Zhao said. “With this one, we have struck a good balance.”

 Zhao started working on the game concept in 2001 as a dual project for the U.S. and Chinese governments.