Want to be the next James bond? Play Xbox...

[PatchGirl]

GCHQ has launched a recruitment campaign on Microsoft's Xbox Live portal, aimed at "quick-thinking 18- to 34-year-olds". The six-week campaign features banner ads, video clips and static advertisements which give more information about GCHQ's work.

The campaign will also highlight some of the key roles within the organisation that might appeal to gamers, including fighting organised crime and targeting hackers. GCHQ hopes to fill around 250 positions in mainly IT and technical roles at both graduate and professional levels.

GCHQ said that many of its recruiting criteria are "reflected in gameplay experiences on Xbox, such as quick thinking, problem solving and team work".

It's not the first time the intelligence agency has launched a recruitment drive through the video games industry. In 2007, it ran a similar in-game campaign in Splinter Cell, which saw the number of visitors to GCHQ's website increase by more than 500 per cent.

The advent of social media has seen more and more companies veering away from the traditional recruitment methods. I've no idea what the Xbox game is about but I do quite like the idea of running a campaign via games.

Do we have any budding spies in the forum who are now rushing off to play the game in the hope of being the next James Bond?