China has lifted a long-running ban on foreign games consoles in arcades and on home entertainment systems, reversing a 2000 decision to ban gaming on mental health grounds.

The government will, for a trial period, allow games consoles to be made within Shanghai's free trade zone and sold within China, subject to standard local inspections on multimedia goods.

An official statement confirming the decision described it as an "experiment [to] temporarily adjust" relevant regulations in order to "explore the experience of reform and opening".

The move paves the way for the biggest foreign games console makers - Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo - to push into the Chinese market where video games are worth 83bn yuan ($13bn) annually, according to China's annual games industry conference.

The announcement did not state a timeframe for the experiment or fully explain the sudden change in policy, but it is in line with wider economic reforms and liberalisation in China over recent years.

Another factor that may have prompted the relaxation is the illegal trade in video games, which thrives throughout the country despite state attempts to restrict it. The ban on consoles has meant that PC gaming dominates as much as two thirds of the games market, but there is a vibrant market in illegal consoles.

The intention to relax trade restrictions was announced last year, making this latest statement part of a longer process and perhaps little more than a formality.

"This just means one step of the process has been taken," said Yasuhiro Minagawa, Japanese firm Nintendo's public relations manager, speaking to Reuters.

The reference to specific areas of trade is significant for foreign companies, however, who are primed to begin doing business as soon as Chinese government officials have finished unpicking such complex bans and restrictions.

Video games themselves are particularly symbolic, such is their significance as a commodity and a form of entertainment both in and outside China. The free trade of such games and consoles would mark a profound step toward China's globalisation both economically and culturally.

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