Xbox is now giving parents control over their childrens gaming habits. Video game usage of kids can now be managed with a family timer.This is the first time the video game industry is seeing the entry of parental control.

Microsoft has teamed up with the Parent Teacher Association and Jerry Rice (the Super Bowl champion) for this offering.

With the help of the family timer, parents can control how many hours kids use the Xbox 360 daily or weekly.

This is a welcome addition to the Xbox 360 for parents who want to control their childrens video game usage. The gamer will be warned of the end of the session in advance.

Independent research shows that this feature will be well recieved by parents. This could mean an increase in Xbox 360 sales for Microsoft.

It is meant to keep the role of parents in bringing up a child healthily constant even with the changing scenario of technology.

If you want this feature on your Xbox, you can download it early next month.

Meanwhile in other news Halo 3 is proving to be a rage. This game can only be played on an Xbox 360. People are buying the Xbox just to play this game. Halo 3 which sold 3.3 million copies by September is revving up gaming fever.