A New York-based Human Rights group has created a video game called ICED, designed to create awareness about US immigration policies.

The video game allows players to walk in the shoes of an undocumented immigrant in America who constantly faces the threat of being arrested and deported.

''We created ICED or I Can End Deportation, which is a videogame that looks at the unfair immigration policies in the United States. A video game is a great way to experience discrimination and hopefully be inspired to act against it,'' said Mallika Dutt, Executive Director, Breakthrough.

Human Rights groups say flaws in immigration laws have led to the detention or deportation of thousands of legal and undocumented immigrants in the US.

The characters in ICED are based on the case studies of five immigrants who were deported. These include Ayesha, a 16-year-old green card holder from India, who was deported after writing a critical essay on freedom of speech and the Department of Homeland Security.

ICED can be downloaded for free on the Internet. Its makers hope it will educate and engage youth in America on immigration issues.

''I really wanted to fight the cops. I wanted to challenge the authority when I could but I realized that I could not, because as an immigrant you can't do those things. So that kind of futility made an important impact on me as I played the game,'' said an immigrant.

''It's a very simple tactic that everybody likes to play videogames and through that you can also learn and take what you learn and try and do something to solve the problem of illegal immigration,'' said another.

In an election year where America is divided over the issue of Illegal immigration, Human Rights activists are hoping to use the game to send out a serious message and sensitize Americans about the toll that deportation takes on the lives of individuals and their families.

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