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Mom says computer Scrabble game swears

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Published: Dec. 7, 2008 at 2:44 PM

LONDON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A British mother says she was shocked to discover a Nintendo's Scrabble 2007 game's computer was choosing to play swear words against her 8-year-old son.

Tonya Carrington says she was mortified when one of the first words the game's computer came up with against her son Ethan was "tits," defining it as an "informal word for female breasts," the British tabloid The Mail on Sunday reported.

But that was only the beginning, as the Scrabble game also elected employ an array of common swear words when tested by Carrington, 36, who is now warning parents to avoid the game.

"I bought it at ASDA in a two-for-$45 deal and the packaging said it was suitable for young children," she told the newspaper. "Scrabble is a game most families have around the house. I got it for Ethan on his DS (game system) to try to improve his vocabulary. But I've banned him from playing it because I don't want him to learn these sorts of words."

A Nintendo spokesman blamed the game's publishers, Ubisoft, for the problem, the Mail reported.

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