Brighton-based interactive consultancy Getfrank has gone online to give the young people of Middlesbrough a chance to become a "virtual mayor".

The firm has produced an interactive game as part of a goverment initiative to tackle voter apathy, addressing declining participation in the political process and raising awareness of local government issues among youngsters aged 11 to 17.

The game, co-developed by The Campaign Company, which works to reduce the distance between people and the organisations that affect their lives, forms part of Middlesbrough Council's initiative to elect its first Youth Mayor.

It offers young people wishing to learn more about local government issues a chance to play at being mayor, with all the decision-making and budget dilemmas the role entails.

The game begins with the player being asked to select a low, medium or high council tax bracket, the result of the selection dramatically affecting the amount the player has to spend during his or her year as mayor and the number of constituents that decide to vote.

Players are then asked to make decisions on how to tackle a number of issues such as teenage pregnancy, street crime and truancy.

Appropriate decisions raise the number of happy voters but poor ones result in loss of voters and a rapidly-diminishing budget.

The game has been developed to support Middlesbrough Council's Youth Mayor campaign, which will see the successful candidate hold the position for one year, with a budget of at least £30,000 to spend on projects benefiting the young people of the town.

Getfrank managing director James Byford said: "This is a bold initiative seeking to engage the next generation of voters in the political process in a relevant media form. The project is designed to reinvigorate the political process by making political issues accessible to the youth."

Jonathan Upton, of The Campaign Company, said:

We are particularly excited this game allows us to get beyond the usual suspects in our attempts to engage young people."

Getfrank specialises in interactive media. Its clients include Sony, Channel 4, BBC, Virgin, AOL and the Strategic Rail Authority. Its accolades include best online marketing campaign award the UK Online Music Awards 2000 for its work on Fat Les for record label EMI and best online design last year for Gorillaz.com.

www.getfrank.com