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SAS troops play Call of Duty at least four hours a day to hone their skills for combat.

The members of crack unit use the game as part of their war preparations as it simulates ambushes, house clearances and other scenarios.

Call of Duty, which can be played on versions of PlayStations and Xboxs, is part of the troop's "warming up and warming down exercises".

"Video games are now incredibly realistic and pretty much accurately reflect what modern combat is like," an insider said.

"I have been in situations, especially in urban environments, which are not too dissimilar from those in games like Modern Warfare. It’s uncanny.

"If you get killed in a video game you can look at the situation and ask why you made certain decisions. The games heighten your awareness – they get you a lot more wired."

Special forces units began experimenting with video games after learning that Formula One drivers use simulators to help them get ready for races.

The insider told Daily Star on Sunday : "Look at any kid after he has spent four or five hours on a video game and see how wired he has become. That’s how you want to be going into combat.

"Using video games is not for everyone and there will always be those people who say they are a waste of time but if they help to save someone’s life they are worth look at."

RAF pilots operating drones over Iraq and Afghanistan have long claimed that flying bombing and surveillance operations is similar to the video games they grew up with.

And the controls on the British Army’s Challenger 2 tanks have also been modelled on gamepads to make them easier to use.

Meanwhile, the US Navy has been introducing based on those used with the Xbox 360 console to operate the periscopes on its submarines.