CNN: 'GTA IV is training kids to be killers'

American news network CNN has launched a scathing attack on Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV game, claiming the Xbox 360 and PS3 title "is training our kids to be killers".

During a news item entitled 'Grand Theft Morality', presenter Glenn Beck said youngsters playing the game will learn how to kill in a similar way to the recruits being trained by the military, stating: "It took 75 years and countless billions of dollars to train our soldiers to kill. Today, $60 buys your kid the same thing.”

The CNN report, which is now available to watch on YouTube, further slams the game's content, with Beck claiming: "In Grand Theft Auto, your son, husband or boyfriend or whoever, can hire a prostitute, have sex with her and then beat her to death with a baseball bat.

“When a police officer comes after him, he can either light him on fire or cut him in half with a chainsaw. This is entertainment?”

The revelation comes as industry watcher Chart Track is predicted to announce the title has stormed to the top of the all-formats games chart following a record-breaking week.