The publisher of the best-selling Grand Theft Auto video games is suing the Chicago Transit Authority, accusing it of pulling the ads for the game's latest installment and interfering with the company's First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Take-Two Interactive, which in addition to GTA IV also produced Manhunt, wants the CTA to put the ads back up and pay $300,000 in compensatory damages.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, says the transit authority pulled the ads from buses and transit stops after a report by a Fox News affiliate that questioned why the ads were permitted after a wave of violent crimes in Chicago.

The GTA series of M-rated (mature) games have prompted a debate over the impact videogames have on children. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City drew a lot of heat in 2003 amid questions whether it led Alabama minor, Devin Moore, to shoot two police officers and another person as he was being booked for suspicion of car theft. His attorneys blamed

GTA: Vice City for the shooting, saying vehicle thefts and homicide are major themes of the game. The judge didn't buy it and barred jurors from hearing any evidence linking the game to the case.

Gamers have snapped up about 6 million copies of GTA IV in the week since it came out, forking over more than $500 million. The game sold 3.6 million copies on its first day, breaking the previous sales record held by Halo 3.

Chicago Transit Authority, which ran into a budget deficit last year, reported to local news agencies that it will review the lawsuit with its attorneys before commenting on this matter.

Photo by Flickr user Marcin Wichary.