Virtual toys, or computer games, will soon have a new breed of makers.

Jadavpur University, one of the oldest cradles for engineers, is introducing a postgraduate course for those willing to make a career as ?computer games technocrats?.

?The craze for virtual games is no longer confined to the younger generation, with a personal computer becoming a must in every family, irrespective of its financial status,? said Partha Pratim Biswas, a senior teacher and member of the university?s executive council.

?There is a demand for a greater variety of computer games. And to develop them, we need qualified engineers trained exclusively in the field,? he added.

Once introduced in June, the university will be the only institution in the country to offer the course.

The engineers will be equipped to contribute both to the computer-manufacturing units and the industry churning out virtual toys. They will also be trained for coming up with new technologies for the game sector.

Since advanced knowledge will be required for developing newer themes for the games, only graduates in computer science and engineering and electronic science and engineering will be allowed to study the course.

The university, which has its origin in the popular movement to free education from the clutches of the British, has another motive behind introducing the course.

Since computer games are a rage among children, the university wants to popularise the indigenous culture among them by borrowing story ideas from Indian classics and myths.

The curriculum has been framed in a way that the students will be required to prepare games based on the storylines of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

It will also ensure that the games designed by the students help promote traditional Indian sports, contrary to those developed in the West.

?This (the computer games) is an excellent medium through which we can generate a liking for Indian culture among children,? professor Biswas said.

The idea has been discussed with representatives of a cross-section of the computer and the toy-making industries, and the university has been assured of ?full support?.

However, since the course also aims at producing engineers who will compete with counterparts across the globe, the curriculum will include sections on developing games based on the themes of popular English fiction.