SHANGHAI - The first online game that teaches players about the history of the Communist Party of China will be available to netizens from Aug 1.

Named after a well-known classic revolutionary book, A Single Spark Can Start A Prairie Fire has been designed by Shanghai Serious Game Industry Development Union.

The game offers historical background about the revolutionary base in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, where the late leader Mao Zedong lived for 13 years during wartime. It also provides biographies of key figures.

Players must lead the fight against the enemy by passing on classic communist, or red, theory.

Serious games are those designed for a purpose other than pure entertainment and have been used worldwide in industries like defense, education, science, healthcare, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion and politics.

The association has signed agreements with Baidu and Sina, both Internet giants in China, as well as other major websites, to set up a joint online platform for the game.

"We released a 3-year plan today that aims to supply five to eight online games or applications for players," Ma Haiyong, director-general of the association, said on Saturday at the seventh China International Comics and Games Expo (CCG Expo), the country's only major animation and Internet gaming show.

"We want to make Shanghai the national serious game center," he added.

Ma hailed the computer game as the first step in China's production of serious games.

In the exhibition area for serious games at CCG Expo, there were several serious games and applications available for the Apple iPad, including firefighting education, "red expeditions" and scientific adventures.

"I'm interested in serious games as they are quite new for Chinese online game players," said Yan Qiangze, a 27-year-old gamer. "I'll definitely play the red game after its official launch to see how the revolutionary stories have been used."

He added that being one of those people born after 1980 he only learned about the revolutionary spirit from his grandparents and old films. He said he hoped the game will enable him to learn more about the history.

However, not all netizens are so enthusiastic. Wei Ming, a 22-year-old gamer from Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, said: "I've never heard of the game and I don't think I'll play it, as I'm not familiar with the background of the game. I probably wouldn't be interested by the content."