_______ Soon: A computer 'that will play every video game _______

London: Believe it or not, scientists are on track to develop a new computer which they claim would be able to play all video games ever created.

According to them, the state-of-the-art machine would also ensure that other kinds of files remain accessible long after the demise of the hardware and software for which they were originally intended.

In fact, the European Union-funded project dubbed KEEP involves creating a software package that replicates the functionality of a previous hardware platform, storage medium or operating system, making it possible to use old software on modern hardware, the 'New Scientist' reported.

Computer historian David Anderson of Portsmouth University, leading the European team, said: "The speed with which digital technologies become obsolete means that even programs from the 1990s are at risk of becoming lost forever."

"Early hardware, like games, consoles and computers, is already found in museums, but if you can't show visitors what they did by playing the software on them, it's much the same as putting musical instruments on display but throwing away all the music. For future generations, it would be a cultural catastrophe."

Britain's National Videogame Archive is trying to record commentaries from game developers as they play through a title they helped to make. One example was recorded by the two lead developers of the James Bond game 'GoldenEye' at the GameCity conference in Nottingham last year.

"The result provides a richer way to experience old material than simply playing an outdated game. It's fantastic to get this insight into the way they built it and the little bugs and glitches, and watch them get back into their game," said James Newman of the Archive.