Swedish children who play computer games are better at English than other children, a new study by researchers at the Universities of Gothenburg and Karlstad has found, it was reported Wednesday.

The study involved 76 children aged ten and 11. For each child, information about the amount of gaming and computer use and meetings where English was used was recorded. Vocabulary lists for the children were also kept.

The aim was to see whether there was a connection between computer gaming and the desire to learn English.

"As a gamer, you very simply have to understand what's said. You have to be able to read English and write English," Liss Kerstin Sylven, one of the researchers in the study, said.

"Using English outside of school, for instance in gaming, has a great influence on children's vocabulary," she said. "There's also a positive effect in the classroom."

Researchers found that boys spend an average of 11.5 hours a week gaming while girls spend 5.1 hours on average. However, girls were found to spend more time than boys in various online activities, such as using Facebook, that involved the use of English.