Nintendo, the Japanese computer games company, is preparing to launch Face Training - a game which offers to guide players through what it calls "facial yoga". Using a camera attached to the company's hand-held DS console, players follow exercises aimed at stretching the skin and warming up muscles. The routines can improve facial muscle tone, according to a company spokesman.

Face Training follows a wave of titles aimed at changing the traditional image of gamers as couch potatoes, including a number of interactive sports games which are being credited with encouraging some children to keep fit. But Face Training is closer in style to the "brain training" titles, featuring interactive logic puzzles and tests of mental agility. Although the effectiveness of such games is questionable, their popularity has helped Nintendo to sell more than 4m DS consoles in the UK since it launched in 2005.

Face Training is part of the company's attempt to appeal to women, who have proved a crucial audience as the video game industry tries to broaden its appeal beyond traditional boundaries. Research indicates that women constitute two-thirds of Nintendo DS owners in the UK, and a significant proportion of older users. To capitalise on this trend, the company is launching a series of advertisements starring female celebrities such as Julie Walters and Zoe Ball.