Offensive gaming gadgets recalled

Dubai: Playstation 3 game, LittleBigPlanet, has been recalled from the market for including a musical track with two verses from the Quran by a Grammy award winning African artist - an act which is considered offensive to Muslims worldwide.

The words used by Mali-born Toumani Diabate translate as "Every soul shall have a taste of death" and "All that is on Earth will perish," was recalled before the launch of the product this month. The product is to be released in early November after modifying the new version.

Tim Stokes, Sales and Marketing Manager for PlayStation Division, Sony Gulf, said, "During the review process prior to the release of LittleBigPlanet, it has been brought to our attention that one of the background music tracks licenced from a record label for use in the game contains two expressions that can be found in the Quran.

We have taken immediate action to rectify this and we sincerely apologise for any offence that this may have caused."

As cited in a BBC report, "Eighteen months ago, Sony apologised to the Church of England after setting scenes in a violent video game inside Manchester Cathedral."

LittleBigPlanet, created by developer Media Molecule, has been described as a game about making games.

In their website, a message was displayed for their fans stating, "As some of you may have noticed, LBP has been slightly delayed in some territories. We can't wait for you all to get playing and creating!"

Stokes, in a statement Gulf News, said, "We are aware that the mixing of musical instruments with recognisable extracts from the Quran is offensive to Muslims.

"Therefore, we have taken immediate action to rectify this."