Children who play video games for more than three hours each day have less interest in school and are more likely to be hyperactive, a new study has found.

They are also more likely to get into fights with other people.

Previous research has suggested a link between certain types of video games and bad behaviour, however this study indicates that it is the length of time playing games, rather than the type of games played, that impacts behaviour.

In fact, the study found no link between the playing of violent games and aggression in real life.

The UK study focused on 200 school children aged 12 and 13. The type of games they played and the length of time they played were assessed. The children's teachers also provided assessments of their academic achievements and behaviour.

The researchers found that problems with the children's behaviour arose if they played video games for more than three hours per day. However, less than this did not appear to have any effect and those who played for less than 60 minutes per day actually saw some benefits.

For example, children who played competitive games for less than one hour per day had fewer emotional problems than their peers. And children who played solitary games generally did well academically, had fewer emotional problems and got into fewer fights.

Meanwhile the study also noted that children who played puzzle or strategy games did not achieve higher grades than their peers who did not play these games.

"These results highlight that playing video games may just be another style of play that children engage with in the digital age, with the benefits felt from the act of playing rather than the medium itself being the significant factor," commented the researchers from the University of Oxford.

They suggested that parents should keep a close eye on how long their children spend playing video games on a daily basis.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Psychology of Popular Media Culture.