Published: Thu, May. 17, 2007 12:00AM

Modified Thu, May. 17, 2007 03:23AM

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Nationally, retailer Target has sponsored serious-game research but isn't using the software in all stores. Other companies as diverse as technology giant Cisco Systems and ice cream chain Cold Stone Creamery have created simulations to teach their employees network assembly and how to make the perfect sundae.

R. Michael Young, a computer science professor at N.C. State University, is using serious-game concepts to help North Carolina math and science teachers create custom games.

This month, Young and NCSU's College of Education will roll out HI FIVES, or Highly Interactive, Fun Internet Virtual Environments in Science, a program that allows teachers to easily create learning games. Funded by a $1.2 million National Science Foundation grant, the program uses Source Engine, the programming code responsible for the wildly popular "Half Life 2" game. With the software, educators can create realistic simulations of spider populations, medieval catapults and other phenomenon.

Dorothy Strickland, the president of Do2Learn in Raleigh, uses the same concepts to teach children who have a hard time understanding spoken language.

Funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Strickland creates serious games for children who have severe autism and fetal alcohol syndrome.

An example is "My Yard," which uses software from Cary's Epic Games. In it, Buddy the dog teaches children not to leave the yard or wander into the street. In tests, the majority of the children were able to translate the in-game experience to the real world.

"We use game technology for the simple reason that kids like to play," Strickland said. "You can't always set a house on fire to teach children what's happening."

As serious games take hold among the area's research organizations, said Masie of the New York think tank, the Triangle will become a leader in the serious-game market.

"The Raleigh area makes total sense," Masie said.