from WEST POINT, NY (GWW)— "Most teens play video games," says Jen Staltare, president of the gaming association at Saint Anselm College, "so if a candidate wants to really reach out to his young audience, then video games is the way to go."

Young video gamers, like Staltare, are part of a demographic considered a must-win for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. One new way his campaign is targeting them, according to recent reports, is through advertising on video games.

"I think that Obama using video games to advertise it a great idea," Staltare said.

Photos have been posted online showing ads in the game "Burnout Paradise," a racing game produced by EA Sports. The gamer who took the photos was playing on XBox.

Staltare says the effect of this unconventional advertising will remain to be seen, and depends on how the individual plays the game.

"I think how relevant the advertising is depends on the player," Staltare wrote by email. "If I'm really into a game, however, I am focused and pay attention to little details. If someone is in the mood to really play a game, then I think he or she will remember the ad."

"And in any case, why couldn't - why shouldn't - a candidate make use of in-game ads?," asks Game Politics in their commentary on the topic. "After all, it's the new, new thing, and Obama has been courting the youth vote all along."

Staltare sees the potential for major shifts in the video game industry, should political advertising expand.

"If this becomes another way of political advertising, the video game world is in for an interesting shift," she said. "If political parties are now controlling some of the advertisements, who knows what will happen to the games themselves."