National Geographic Panda ambles towards DS

There have been enough virtual animal simulations on DS now that we might normally not pay a newly announced one that much attention. But – look – this one has pandas! And seeing as pandas are universally accepted to be the cutest animals in the world (though they will try to bite your arm off should you get too close) it's got to be worth a mention.

National Geographic Panda is set to be released by Namco Bandai later this year. The game enables players to raise a panda from fluffy cub to lazy adult, building them an enclosure with tyre swings, see-saws and slides, as well as buying them food and toys. You're even able to build up a group of pandas, which we're going to be very disappointed if isn't as cute as this.

The game also promises to be educational for children, teaching them about pandas and conservation. The fact it's tied in with National Geographic and uses material from its archives is a good start.

Hopefully the game won't be featuring any of the real-life methods Chinese zoos have used in the past to encourage the sex-shy animals to mate (which include giving them Viagra and making them watch homemade 'panda porn') or it's actually not going to be that child-friendly.