With less than three weeks left before Election Day, Obama wants to be sure the public knows he's in the game. So Obama's campaign has purchased ad space in Xbox 360 Live's Burnout Paradise game and eight other Electronic Arts games. So gamers who connect their Xbox 360 console to the Internet will get more than a gaming experience; they'll get to see Obama campaigning.

Obama, the first presidential candidate to be featured in video-game ads, is seen on billboards and other areas of the Xbox game popular among 16-to-30-year-old males.

With young adults spending a minimum of six hours per week playing video games, according to NPD Group, it seems a smart move by Obama's campaign.

Intrusive or Accepting

"To be honest, this news really threw me for a loop," said David Riley, spokesperson for NPD Group. "I've always believed that politics and religion don't belong in the gaming industry -- think the oil and water analogy -- but I don't see why this cannot be explored, and why it cannot be successful. If anything, this might help to close the divide between gaming and politics, so I view this as a step in the right direction."

Most consumers don't mind in-game ads, according to a Nielsen study that found 82 percent of surveyed gamers felt games were just as enjoyable with ads as without. There was an average 61 percent increase in consumers' positive opinions of products advertised in-game, according to the study commissioned by IGA Worldwide, an in-game advertising company.

More than 70 percent of consumers who were most opinionated about the in-game ads felt the ads made them feel better about the brand, feel more favorable toward the brand, and made them more interested in the brand, according to the study.

Although advertising of products and services has been accepted, only time will tell if political ads will have the same effect on gamers.

"It's hard to say if the more politically active gamers will take it a little too seriously and simply stop playing the game, but I doubt that will happen on any level that would be measurable," Riley said.

An Explosive Market

In-game advertising generated $77.7 million globally in 2006 and is expected to reach $971.3 million by 2011, according to the Yankee Group.

IGA Worldwide just last month announced a multiyear agreement with Activision Publishing to provide in-game advertising on Sony's PlayStation 3.

Microsoft , in its 2006 acquisition of Massive, joined the in-game advertising market. In March, Massive added two years to an existing agreement with Electronic Arts to offer in-game ads for NBA Live, Madden NFL, NASCAR and NHL. Massive also said it was working with marketers to incorporate ads in Burnout Paradise.

Google recently announced its move into the in-game ad market with the launch of AdSense, a program where publishers can drive their brand and reach a targeted audience by embedding ads into a game.