With their images of scantily clad women and bloodthirsty violence, they have long been the domain of geeky adolescents and testosterone driven young men ensconced in their bedrooms.

Now the controversial world of videogames is to be at the centre of a major exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

At the heart of what is being billed as the first show by a major international museum to explore videogames, will be the industry’s frequent portrayal of women as sexual playthings.

The exhibition, to open next September, will examine all aspects of videogames - from ground breaking contemporary design to ‘player communities’ and the imbalance between the male dominated industry and the growing numbers of women gamers.

Large scale installations and hands-on interactive experiences will allow visitors to explore the rapidly changing design and technology of today’s videogames.

But the exhibition will also explore the portrayal of women in games, where they are frequently represented as highly sexualised characters existing purely for the gratification of men.

Although they will not be included in the exhibition critics have highlighted a number of videogames, such as as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Grand Theft Auto and Dead or Alive, for portraying women in a demeaning and exploitative way.