Sega wants your face

This summer sees the release of NHL Eastside Hockey Manager 2005 for PC and Mac. And you could see your very own face in said game thanks to the aptly titled 'Face in the Game' initiative.

EHM is being brought to you by Sega and Sports Interactive, the people behind the Football Manager series. It features more than 15 playable leagues, 3200 teams and 32,000 players and staff, all uniquely detailed with more than 50 attributes.

But as time goes on and real players start to retire, the database will churn up fictional 'regenerated' players - and their faces will be rendered from digital photos submitted by gamers.

Only photos of people aged 18 to 25 will be used for players, but don't worry if you fall outside that category as you might still end up providing the face for a coach or physio.

Bad news for ladies though - developer Sports Interactive won't be able to work female faces into the game this time, so it's men only. Guess we'll just have to wait for NHL Westside Lacrosse Coach then.

In the meantime, 50 per cent of the population can go ahead and upload their faces at the Sports Interactive website.

And you can learn a great deal about the game, Tom tells me, by reading his recent preview here.